Baotu Spring


The Baotu Spring is a culturally significant artesian karst spring located in the city of Jinan, Shandong, China. It is mentioned in the Spring and Autumn Annals, one of the Five Classics of Chinese literature, and was declared the "Number One Spring under the Heaven" by the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing dynasty.
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 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.
Altogether, the springs fed by the aquifer have a discharge of about 300,000-350,000 cubic metres per day. Since the 1970s, the springs have stopped flowing several times because too much water has been taken out from the aquifer for human consumption.
The Baotu Spring is part of a cluster of about 20 named springs. Water age estimates suggest that its water originates from shallow circulation.
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. 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:
The existence of the Baotu Spring has been dated back more than 3,500 years to the times of the Shang dynasty. The spring is mentioned in the Spring and Autumn Annals, the official chronicle of the ancient Lu state and one of the Five Classics of Chinese literature. The Baotu Spring is also described in the Shuijing Zhu compiled by the geographer Li Daoyuan during the Northern Wei dynasty. He writes that "spring gushes up, water gushing like wheel". In Li Daoyuan's time, the Baotu Spring and adjacent springs formed the source of the ancient Luo River; it now flows into Daming Lake via the old city moat, then the Xiaoqing River. The present-day name of the spring refers to the gushing up of the water. It dates back to the Song dynasty; previously the spring had been known under different names such as "Baoliu" and "Lanquan".
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 Hall, the Guanlan Pavilion, and the Laihe Bridge. 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, 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, the Luoyuan Garden, the Hundred Flowers Garden, and the 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, Zhao Mengfu, and Pu Songling. 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 and Wang Xuetao 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 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.