Nanjing Tangshan Hot Springs

Nanjing Tangshan Hot Springs

Nanjing Tangshan Hot Springs

Nanjing has many hot springs, but among them, Tangshan Hot Springs are the most famous. Located about 28 kilometers east of Zhongshan Gate in Nanjing, Tangshan boasts beautiful scenery with lush mountains and clear waters. The area is dotted with numerous hot spring sources that gush year-round, emitting steam. Tangshan is named after and renowned for its springs.

Modern scientific geological surveys indicate that Tangshan Hot Springs were formed at the end of the Late Jurassic period over 100 million years ago. Due to geological faulting, rainwater seeped deep underground, was heated by geothermal energy, and then rose to the surface through fissures in the earth's strata—this is how Tangshan Hot Springs came into being.

Currently, the daily water output of Nanjing Tangshan Hot Springs reaches several thousand tons, with temperatures consistently maintained between 55°C and 60°C. The water is clean and contains more than 30 types of minerals such as calcium, magnesium, and sulfur, along with trace radioactive elements like radon and fluorine. Therefore, the full name of the hot spring should be "medium-temperature calcium-magnesium sulfate hot spring containing radon." It offers health-enhancing, body-benefiting, and therapeutic effects, and has been recognized by authoritative figures in China’s medical and health community as one of the “Four Major Therapeutic Hot Springs in the Nation.”

The reason why these hot springs have enjoyed fame throughout history is mainly due to their unique therapeutic and health benefits. As early as the Han Dynasty, the scientist Zhang Heng wrote in his "Hot Spring Stele" that “where there is illness or pestilence, the hot spring provides relief.” In addition to treating illnesses, hot springs can also enhance physical health through three physical effects: heat temperature, hydrostatic pressure, and buoyancy. Regular bathing not only leaves the skin smooth and clear but can also promote longevity. Throughout history, Tangshan Hot Springs have been highly favored by nobility and dignitaries. Yuan Mei, a Qing Dynasty scholar-official and former magistrate of Jiangning County, visited and bathed here many times. During the Republican era, Chiang Kai-shek even had a private hot spring villa built here exclusively for him and his wife.

Near the springs of Nanjing Tangshan Hot Springs, one can see many naturally formed crystals of high quality. These include rhombohedral calcite in white, light yellow, and grayish-white hues, as well as cubic or octahedral fluorite in light yellow, light green, and pale purple. Both minerals are precipitates brought up to the surface by the hot spring water, known as "sinter." The beautifully varied sinter formations are condensations of nature’s vitality and can stir the imagination with their fantastical forms.