Stream Pavilion Spring

Stream Pavilion Spring

Stream Pavilion Spring, also known as the Wang Family Stream Pavilion Spring, gets its name from the pavilion and stream nearby. It is located 8 meters east of Pearl Spring. The pool is 2 meters long, 1.8 meters wide, and 2 meters deep, with natural stones lining the pond. Stone-carved railings surround the pool on the south, north, and west sides. On the east side is an artificial hill made of stacked rocks, rustic and natural, with the three characters “Stream Pavilion Spring” inscribed in stone by Wang Nuo (also known as Mo Xian).

It was once listed among the Seventy-Two Famous Springs of the Jin, Ming, and Qing dynasties. It is now one of Jinan’s New Seventy-Two Famous Springs. In people’s minds, Stream Pavilion Spring is inevitably associated with the famous ci poet Li Qingzhao’s poem “Like a Dream.”

“I often recall the sunset by Stream Pavilion, drunk, I lost my way home. When the fun was over and I rowed back late, I mistakenly entered the depths of the lotus blooms. Row, row—startled, a whole shore of herons and egrets took flight.” Savoring the lines of the outstanding Song Dynasty lyric poet Li Qingzhao’s “Like a Dream,” one can imagine the murmuring streams, pavilions, and a fair maiden boating on the waters of Stream Pavilion Spring in days gone by.

Nowadays, Stream Pavilion Spring, situated beside Pearl Spring, no longer has the streams and lakes where the poet once rowed. Only the spring pool remains. Historical records indicate that in ancient times, Stream Pavilion Spring was adjacent to Zhuoying Lake and connected to Daming Lake to the north, with vast waters navigable by boat. Even in the Ming Dynasty, the area still had abundant water. The Ming poet Wang Xiangchun described the thriving springs of the region in his work “Qilu – A Hundred Verses on Jinan”: “A winding stream, a plank bridge, women washing clothes by the stone, scooping water with dippers. At every household, women pause their needlework; beneath the trees, boats lie waiting, rocked by hand.”