Traditional North Spring Scenic Area

Traditional North Spring Scenic Area - Origin

The Traditional North Spring Scenic Area is situated in the Beibei District of Chongqing, with Jialing River in its north and Jinyun Mountain in its south. It is quiet and beautiful and has a thick flavor of tradition. It is grown out of the Spring Temple which was built in 423 (the first year of Emperor Liu Songjing of Southern Dynasty) and was rebuilt in 1432 (the seventh year of Emperor Xuande in Ming Dynasty). Lu Zuofu set up the Jialing River Spring Park here in 1927. He annexed spring swimming pool, bath rooms, and restaurants here. The park changed its name to Chongqing North Spring Park.

Traditional North Spring Scenic Area - Sceneries

The North Spring Scenic Area was built alongside the natural terrain. The landscape here looks like a picture: terraces and pavilions, green bamboos and forests, clean waters and beautiful hills. The scenery in the park is centers on the Four Palaces. The Sanctuary Palace also named Sansheng Palace was the gate of the Spring Temple. There is a lake fed by several small streams in the back of the palace. There is a bridge on the lake, and there are kirins, plantains, and flower-bird carvings on the rail. There is a big Buddha statue made in Ming Dynasty in the Big Buddha Palace. In front of the palace, there is a pair of stone lions with little lions in their arms, really special. The Guanyin Palace is known as the Iron Tile Palace since it was supported by stone columns and covered by iron tiles.

Traditional North Spring Scenic Area – Guxiang Park

The Guxiang Park, the Stone Carving Park, the Fish Pond, and the Lotus Pond are in the east of the Four Palaces. The Ruhua Cave and the Moon Lake are in the north of the Four Palaces. The Guxiang Park is the former site of the Spring Temple. There are dense forests and towering old trees in the park. There are sarira stupas of Song, Ming, and Qing Dynasties. There are a lot of stone carvings of Song, Ming, and Qing Dynasties, in which the Panlong Tower is the most valuable one.

Traditional North Spring Scenic Area – Spring Temple

The Spring Temple was belonging to Jinyun Temple in ancient times. The gorgeous temples and the various stone carvings attracted a lot of worshipers here. It was deeply destroyed by the abolition activities of Emperor Wu in Southern and Northern Dynasties and Emperor Wu in Tang Dynasty. The temple was rebuilt in Emperor Zhen Years of Tang Dynasty. The Spring Temple was granted as the Chongsheng Temple in the Fourth year of Emperor Jingde in North Song Dynasty. The Ming and Qing Dynasties were the golden ages of the Spring Temple. The buildings in the temple were reconstructed, and annexed a pavilion to welcome the officers. They built a pool in the back of the temple, the temple was covered by a pavilion, and visitors can take a bath in the pool no matter rainy days or sunny days. They also made use of the spring source and the terrain built a fish pond and the Half-moon Pond for the visitors.

Traditional North Spring Scenic Area – Hot Springs

The North Spring Scenic Area is characterized by various kinds of gurgling springs. There are 10 warm spring sources; the daily flow reaches 5675 tons. The water temperature is 35℃-37℃. The spring can help to cure the skin, joint, and inwards diseases since the mineral spring is slightly alkaline.

The dense forests and charming pavilions have a flavor of tradition. The green bamboos and gurgling springs formed a beautiful picture. The bridges on the lakes are delicate and exquisite, the water in the lakis clear and limpid, the fishes in the water make layers of waves and break the reflections of the people. The lotus leaves stretch widely in the pond, the blooming lotus flowers give out fragrance. Visitors here would be drunk with the beautiful scenery.