Fangxian hot spring

( chinadaily.com.cn )

Updated: 2011-07-16

Fangxian hot spring, also called "the Grand Spa", is located five kilometers to the east of the county seat of Fangxian in Hubei province. As early as the Spring and Autumn period (771-403 BC), a gurgling spring of clear water was found flowing out of a mountain cave. For the water is constantly as hot as soup all seasons, people dug and built a pool to make it a natural spa.

The natural hot spring water comes from the active layer 4,000 meters below the world famous Qingfeng Fault, with a daily discharge of more than 8,640 tons. The temperature maintains 38 degree Celsius (100 degree Fahrenheit) all year long. As identified by experts as high quality mineral water of "magnesium carbonate with radon, the strontium", the mineral-rich has many therapeutical effects: restoring your body, warming your spirit and combating aging. Having built up 44 spa pools of different size, Fangxian hot spring can receive more than 1,000 visitors a day.

Blessed with the pleasant environment, Fangxian hot spring has been a most famous resort since the ancient times. Legend has it that Li Xian -- the fourth emperor of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) -- used to bath in the hot spring with his concubines during his exile in Fangxian county.