- Home
- China Travel Guide
- Xian Travel
- Huaqing Hot Spring Xian
Huaqing Hot Spring Xian
The Huaqing Hot Springs is located about 35 kilometers east of Xi'an city
at the foot of the Lishan Mountain. For centuries emperors had come
here to bathe and enjoy the scenic beauty. The Huaqing Hot
Spring is a famous scenic hot spring spot of Xi'an with a
history of more than 3000 years and was used by ancient emperors as
their imperial villa and excursion centre. Huaqing Hot Spring is famed for both its dainty spring scenery and the romantic love story of Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) and his concubine Yang Guifei
in the Tang Dynasty (618-907).
King Youwang of the Zhou Dynasty
built the Lishan Palace here. Emperor QinsHihuang built a house
and a pool of stone and named them the ”Goddess Hot Springs”. Emperor
Wendi of the Sui Dynasty expanded the facilities. Emperor Xuanzong
of the Tang Dynasty transformed the hot spring wells into pools
which were enclosed in the palace rooms, so they are known as the
Huaqing Palace or the Huaqing Pools where Emperor Xuanzong and his
concubine Yang amused themselves. From then on, “the Nine Dragons
Hot Springs” ”the Chenxiang Hall”, etc. have been additionally built.
In the Xi'an Incident in December, 1936, patriotic generals Zhang
Xueliang and Yang Hucheng arrested Chiang Kai—shek here.
The Hot Springs Palace was built by Emperor Taizong and a walled
palace was added by Emperor Xuanzong in 747 A.D. Unfortunately,
it was damaged during the An Lushan Rebellion at the middle Tang.
The present site was rebuilt on the site of the Qing dynasty structure.
Huaqing Hot Spring is located at the foot of the
Lishan Mountain, a branch range of the Qinling Ranges, and stands
1,256 meters high. It is covered with pines and cypresses, looking
very much like a dark green galloping horse from a long distance.
So it has the name of the Lishan Mountain (Li means a black horse).
The Tang dynasty Emperor Xuan Zong and his favorite lady, Yang Gui
Fei used to make their home at Frost Drifting Hall in winter days.
When winter came, snowflakes were floating in the air, and everything
in sight was white. However, they came into thaw immediately in
front of the hall. It owed a great deal to the warm vapor rising
out of the hot spring. This is the Frost Drifting Hall that greets
us today.
Close by the Frost Drifting Hall lies the Nine Dragon Pool. According
to legend, the Central Shaanxi Plain was once stricken by a severe
drought in the very remote past. Thus, by the order of the Jade
Emperor (the Supreme Deity of Heaven), an old dragon came at the
head of eight young ones, and made rain here. Yet when the disaster
was just abating, they lowered their guard so much that it became
serious again. In a fit of anger, the Jade Emperor kept the young
dragons under the Jade Cause Way, with the Morning Glow Pavilion
and the Sunset Pavilion built at both ends of it respectively, to
make the young dragons spout cleat water all day long to meet the
needs of local irrigation. Besides, he had the old dragon confined
to the bottom of the Roaring Dragon Waterside Pavilion situated
at the upper end of the Jade Causeway, and obliged him to exercise
control over the young.
The Nine-Bend Corridor west of the Nine Dragon Pool leads directly
to the Marble Boat, which resembles a dragon boat on the water surface.
In the Marble Boat lies the Nine Dragon Tang (the Nine Dragon Hot
Spring where Emperor Xuan Zong used to take baths). At the head
of his court ladies and hundreds of his officials, he would come
to the Huanqing Palace to spend his winter days in October of the
lunar calendar and return to Chang’an City as the year drew to its
close. The Nine Dragon Hot Spring was originally built with crystal
jade, whose surface was decorated with the carvings of fish, dragons,
birds and flowers. In it twin lotus flowers also carved with white
jade could be seen as well. The spring water effused from the break
of an earthen jar, and spouted up to the lotus flowers. Hence the
name is Lotus Flower Tang (the Lotus Flower Hot Spring).
The Gui Fei Bathing Pool was where Yang Gui Fei, Emperor Xuan Zong’s
favorite lady, used to take bath. It was originally built with white
jade, and in its center blooming flower spouted water like a spring.
The pool looked very much like a Chinese