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Get close to the springs by boat

By Ju Chuanjiang, Zhao Ruixue and Wang Qian (China Daily Shandong Bureau)
Updated: 2009-11-06 13:44

A painted boat in ancient-style tours in Daming Lake in Jinan, capital city of east China's Shandong province. [China Daily/Shandong Bureau]

In Jinan, nothing is more attractive than the hundreds of fresh water springs dotting the landscape of the renowned Spring City.

Tourists can enjoy several famed springs lining the city’s moat by taking a painted boat thanks to the expansion work of the area around Daming Lake.

The recently devised tour route around the moat provides convenient off-shore access for tourists to experience the mysterious charm of the springs and feast their eyes on the beautiful scenery of Daming Lake, the world’s largest inner city lake converged by numerous springs.

“With a total length of 5.5 kilometers, the current off-shore route only encompasses the western half of Jinan,” Han Xiaoguang, director of Jinan Landscape Bureau, said.

During the National Day festival, flocks of tourists came to experience the offshore travel.

Some 50 famed springs line the travel route, which is also dotted with numerous unknown ones.

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The one-hour ride stops at five main scenic spots—Black Tiger Spring, Square of the Spring City, Baotu Spring, Five Dragons' Pool and Daming Lake.

Tourists board at Black Tiger Spring, the first stop of the boat tour..

“Black Tiger Spring, sourced from a three-meter deep and 1.7-meter wide natural cave, is one of Jinan’s 72 famous springs. This spring gets the name as it sounds like tigers roaring when the spring gushes,” the tour guide said.

Here tourists can see fresh water spewing out from three tiger head-shaped stones into the river.

The Black Tiger Spring is seen in this undated photo  in Jinan ,east China's Shandong province. [China Daily/Shandong Bureau]

Around the spring, people can be seen taking photos and reading books, while some residents fetch water with buckets.

“Residents use the fresh water to cook and make tea,” the tour guide explained.

“I have been coming to get water for daily use since I retired. It is very good to drink the pure water,” Zhao Yun, who was getting water, said.

Around Black Tiger Spring 14 well-known springs are scattered, including Fairy Spring, Agate Spring and Lute Spring.

Facing Black Tiger Spring is the Fairy Spring. It is said nine fairies were attracted to the water to take a bath by the sound of the spring and they loved the spring so much that they were reluctant to leave.

From the bottom of the spring thousands of tiny bubbles emerge. With pitch arcs, these bubbles reach the serene surface of the Fairy Spring, triggering numerous small ripples.

Tourists rest along side of Xiangnu Spring, or Fairy Spring, in Jinan of Shandong province. [China Daily/Shandong Bureau]

Beautiful pitch arcs and ripples fire the imagination of tourists with some people comparing them to the slim waists and smiling faces of the fairies.

In the boat, tourists are served tea made with spring water. They easily get the feeling of being in a typical water-backed town in the south ofChina, given the environment they are basking in as the boat moves forward slowly with fish passing by and weeping willows stretching into the river.

“Two years’ efforts have paid off. We see the river around the city is clear, banks of the river are carpeted with green plants and the Daming Lakeis extended to a larger scale,” Han said while enjoying the city’s achievements on landscape.

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