The Baotu Spring (, sometimes translated as "Jet Spring" or "Spurting Spring") is a culturally significant artesian

karst spring A karst spring or karstic spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring (exsurgence, outflow of groundwater) that is part of a karst hydrological system. Description Because of their often conical or inverted bowl shape, karst springs are also known i ...

located in the city of

Jinan Jinan is the capital of the province of Shandong in East China. With a population of 9.2 million, it is one of the largest cities in Shandong in terms of population. The area of present-day Jinan has played an important role in the history of ...

Shandong Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

. It is mentioned in the ''

Spring and Autumn Annals The ''Spring and Autumn Annals'' is an ancient Chinese chronicle that has been one of the core Chinese classics since ancient times. ''The Annals'' is the official chronicle of the State of Lu, and covers a 242-year period from 722 to 481&nbs ...

'', one of the

Five Classics The Four Books and Five Classics are authoritative and important books associated with Confucianism, written before 300 BC. They are traditionally believed to have been either written, edited or commented by Confucius or one of his disciples. S ...

of Chinese literature, and was declared the "Number One Spring under the Heaven" () by the

Qianlong Emperor The Qianlong Emperor (25 September 17117 February 1799), also known by his temple name Emperor Gaozong of Qing, personal name Hongli, was the fifth Emperor of China, emperor of the Qing dynasty and the fourth Qing emperor to rule over China pr ...

in the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing, was a Manchu-led Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China and an early modern empire in East Asia. The last imperial dynasty in Chinese history, the Qing dynasty was preceded by the ...

. The Baotu Spring is the most renowned among the more than 70 named artesian springs in the downtown area of the city of Jinan. The water of all these springs originates from an

Ordovician The Ordovician ( ) is a geologic period and System (geology), system, the second of six periods of the Paleozoic Era (geology), Era, and the second of twelve periods of the Phanerozoic Eon (geology), Eon. The Ordovician spans 41.6 million years f ...

karst aquifer under the city. As the terrain around Jinan slopes from the south down to the north, the recharge area for the aquifer is located in the mountainous area to the south of the city. The recharge area of the springs covers 1,500 square kilometres, out of which 550 km² provide direct recharge and 950 km² indirect recharge.Q. Wu and H. Xu (2005): A three-dimensional model and its potential application to spring protection. Environ Geol (2005) 48: 551558 Altogether, the springs fed by the aquifer have a discharge of about 300,000-350,000 cubic metres per day.D. Yuan (2007): Urban Hydrogeology in Karst Regions of China. - International Conference on Karst Hydrogeology and Ecosystems 2007 Since the 1970s, the springs have stopped flowing several times because too much water has been taken out from the aquifer for human consumption (more than 270,000 m³ per day in the 1970s). The Baotu Spring is part of a cluster of about 20 named springs. Water age estimates suggest that its water originates from shallow circulation.setcookie=yes Fang, P., Cao, Y., Tang, K., Li, X., Wang, S. (1988) Age Dating of the Groundwater in the Spring Area of Jinan City in: Karst Hydrogeology and Karst Environment Protection. Volume 2. Proceedings of the 21st Congress of the International Association of Hydrogeologists, Guilin, China October 10-15, 1988. IAHS Publication No. 176, (1988). p 597-605
/ref> The spring pool of the Baotu Spring is fed by an underwater limestone water through three outlets; the volume of the water coming out of the spring can reach peak values up to 1.6 cubic metres per second.
The water jets from the spring are said to have reached highs up to 26 metres.
/ref> The water temperature remains constant of 18 degree Celsius through the entire year.

Other springs in the Baotu Group

Among the other springs in the Baotu Group that are also on the list of the "seventy-two famous springs" () in Jinan are: *Jinxian Spring () *Huanghua Spring () *Liuxu Spring () *Woniu Spring (, literally "lying cattle spring") *Shuyu Spring () *Mapao Spring () *Wuyou Spring (, literally "carefree spring") *Shiwan Spring () *Zhanlu Spring () *Manjing Spring () *Dengzhou Spring () *Dukang Spring () *Wangshui Spring ()

History

The existence of the Baotu Spring has been dated back more than 3,500 years to the times of the

Shang dynasty The Shang dynasty (), also known as the Yin dynasty (), was a Chinese royal dynasty that ruled in the Yellow River valley during the second millennium BC, traditionally succeeding the Xia dynasty and followed by the Western Zhou d ...

. The spring is mentioned in the ''

'', the official chronicle of the ancient Lu state and one of the

of Chinese literature. The Baotu Spring is also described in the ''Shuijing Zhu'' ("Commentary on the Waterways Classic") compiled by the geographer Li Daoyuan during the

Northern Wei dynasty Wei (), known in historiography as the Northern Wei ( zh, c=北魏, p=Běi Wèi), Tuoba Wei ( zh, c=拓跋魏, p=Tuòbá Wèi), Yuan Wei ( zh, c=元魏, p=Yuán Wèi) and Later Wei ( zh, t=後魏, p=Hòu Wèi), was an imperial dynasty of Chi ...

. He writes that "spring gushes up, water gushing like wheel".online article at jongo.com
In Li Daoyuan's time, the Baotu Spring and adjacent springs formed the source of the ancient Luo River;online article at www.qiluyou.com
/ref> it now flows into Daming Lake via the old city moat, then the

Xiaoqing River Xiaoqing River () is a river in Shandong Province, China. It is part of the Bohai Sea basin and empties into Laizhou Bay. The river flows through the major city of Jinan. It is long and drains a basin, which also contains the city of Zibo. Ec ...

. The present-day name of the spring refers to the gushing up of the water. It dates back to the

Song dynasty The Song dynasty ( ) was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song, who usurped the throne of the Later Zhou dynasty and went on to conquer the rest of the Fiv ...

; previously the spring had been known under different names such as "Baoliu" and "Lanquan".online article at www.chinaplanner.com
/ref> The area of the Baotu Spring as well as some neighboring springs in the same group are protected by a public park (). The park was created in 1956 and covers now about 10.5 hectares.

Architecture

The spring water feeds into a rectangular spring pool that extends 30 meters from east to west and 18 meters from north to south. The spring pool is surrounded by historical structures such as the Leyuan (or Luoyuan) Hall (

, to the north of the spring), the Guanlan Pavilion (

Ming dynasty The Ming dynasty, officially the Great Ming, was an Dynasties of China, imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 1368 to 1644, following the collapse of the Mongol Empire, Mongol-led Yuan dynasty. The Ming was the last imperial dynasty of ...

, west of the spring), and the Laihe Bridge (built during the Wanli era in the Ming dynasty, east of the spring). Close by, on the shore of the spring's runoff stands the Wangheting Teahouse. Other noteworthy structures are the Banbi Corridor and the Waterside Chamber. The largest architectural ensemble is the 10,000 Bamboo Garden (). It comprises 186 buildings arranged around 13 courtyards as well as four pavilions and five bridges. Originally built during the

Yuan dynasty The Yuan dynasty ( ; zh, c=元朝, p=Yuáncháo), officially the Great Yuan (; Mongolian language, Mongolian: , , literally 'Great Yuan State'), was a Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China and a successor state to the Mongol Empire after Div ...

, it served as the residence of the governor of Shandong during the Ming dynasty. Later, it was the home of the poet Wang Ping, who purchased it during the Qing dynasty in 1692. In 1912, Zhang Huaizhi, a commander of the local army who later became governor of Shandong Province, bought the garden and kept enlarging it from 1912 to 1927. Other gardens and architectural ensembles within the park are the Cang Garden (with the memorial to Wang Xuetao), the Luoyuan Garden, the Hundred Flowers Garden, and the ( May 3rd Massacre) Memorial Garden.

Culture

Baotu Spring has been a recurring subject of classic Chinese literature and has been written about by authors such as

Zeng Gong Zeng Gong (; 1019–1083), courtesy name Zigu (), was a Chinese essayist, historian, poet, and politician of the Song dynasty. He was a key supporter and writer in the Classical Prose Movement and is regarded by later scholars as one of the Eigh ...

(Song dynasty), Zhao Mengfu (

), and

Pu Songling Pu Songling ( zh, t= , 5 June 1640 – 25 February 1715) was a Chinese writer during the Qing dynasty, best known as the author of '' Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio'' (''Liaozhai zhiyi''). Biography Pu was born into a poor merchant famil ...

(

). During the Qing dynasty, the Kangxi and Qianlong emperors visited the spring and left inscriptions there. The Qianlong Emperor conferred on it the honorary title "First Spring under the Heaven" (). The Baotu Spring public park also houses memorials to the local painters Li Kuchan (1898–1983) and Wang Xuetao (1903–1982) as well as to the poet Li Qingzhao. The latter has a memorial hall set in a traditional courtyard dedicated to her. The Baotu Spring is the site of an annual lantern festival (starts on the

Chinese New Year Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival (see also #Names, § Names), is a festival that celebrates the beginning of a New Year, new year on the traditional lunisolar calendar, lunisolar Chinese calendar. It is one of the most important holi ...

day and lasts for one month, and a

chrysanthemum Chrysanthemums ( ), sometimes called mums or chrysanths, are flowering plants in the Asteraceae family. They are native to East Asia and northeastern Europe. Most species originate from East Asia, and the center of diversity is in China. Co ...

show (since the 1970s, held from the end of October to the end of November. A local beer brand ("Baotu Quan" beer produced by Jinan Beer Group Corporation) is named after the spring and said to be brewed with water from the spring.

Location

The Baotu Spring is located right to the southwest of the city center of Jinan, on the outer side of the old city moat and near the west end of Quancheng Road (); its street address is Baotu Spring South Road 1 (), Jinan, Shandong.

References

External links

Official website (in Chinese)New Seventy-two Famous Springs in Jinan
{{Shandong topics Bodies of water of Shandong Springs of China AAAAA-rated tourist attractions