Tangxi Hot Springs

Tangxi Hot Springs

Tangxi Hot Springs is located at the foot of a mountain about 0.5 kilometers southeast of Tangxi Village, Ma’an Town, Chongren County. Here, the area is embraced by rolling hills, covered in lush greenery, with picturesque farmland and stunning scenery. The hot spring water gushes out from beneath rugged rocks. There are seven major springs, with the water maintaining a constant temperature of 41°C, crystal-clear to the bottom. The springs discharge over 3,000 tons of water per day and contain minerals such as sulfur, which have been shown to be effective in treating skin diseases and rheumatoid arthritis. Regular bathing can help relax muscles and improve blood circulation, cure illnesses, strengthen the body, and nourish the skin. Locals call it “divine water.” In the 26th year of the Republic of China (1937), Chiang Ching-kuo and Bai Chongxi passed through Chongren and stopped to bathe in the Tangxi Hot Springs. The county magistrate personally stood guard for them.

The Ming Dynasty scholar Li Shaochun once listed it as one of the twelve scenic spots of Chongren. He wrote in his poem: “Cold springs are drawn by countless homes, yet why does this hot spring do so? It neither stokes yin nor yang fires, nor is it boiled from metal or stone. Bathe and wash as you wish, yet filth is never seen. Yet it still yields to the ‘Heart-Cleansing Pool,’ where clear sands win the admiration of noble hearts.” About a hundred meters south of Tangxi Hot Springs, atop a small hill, stands an ancient pagoda built during the Ming Dynasty. The seven-story, hexagonal structure is made of blue bricks, standing 12.6 meters tall with a base diameter of 3.5 meters. It forms a distant echo with the Tangxi Hot Springs at the mountain’s foot. Viewed from the hot springs, the pagoda resembles a giant sword, soaring into the sky and guarding this millennia-old divine water. Looking down from the pagoda, the hot springs appear like a green-robed fairy lying quietly amidst the emerald fields. In the valley below the pagoda, a stream converges into a green pool, over which lies the “Huilan Bridge,” also built in the Ming Dynasty. The bridge features a covered corridor, keeping it warm in winter and cool in summer, and remarkably free from spiders, mosquitoes, or other flying insects throughout all seasons — a mystery still unsolved to this day. (There is also a magical legend about this pagoda and Huilan Bridge: It is said that ever since Yang Jiuping created the hot springs, three mountains at the southern entrance of Tangxi suddenly came alive in a strange way. At sunset, the left “lion,” right “elephant,” and central “ball” would dance wildly in the rosy glow. They would leap and compete for the ball, shaking the earth and terrifying the villagers. A Taoist priest eventually learned of this phenomenon. To eliminate the disaster, he organized the villagers to build a pagoda on the “ball” and construct a bridge over the mouths of the “lion” and “elephant.” Since then, the strange sight of lions and elephants dancing with the ball has never been seen again.) With the development of the hot spring resort area, Tangxi, once “hidden away from the world,” will finally attract visitors from all directions with her naturally exquisite and pastoral scenery. And Tangxi Hot Springs will, as the immortals intended when they created it, bring prosperity and happiness to the people of the world.

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