Fengshun Hot Springs

Fengshun Hot Springs

Fengshun County has as many as 14 naturally occurring hot springs, the highest number of any county in Guangdong Province. The province has a total of 285 natural hot springs, but only three counties have 12 or more: Fengshun, Yangchun, and Shixing. Fengshun ranks first in the province in terms of the number of hot springs. Fengshun is situated in the Lianhua Mountain Fault Zone. Geological faulting is the internal cause, while the widespread presence of hot springs and waterfalls is the external manifestation. These features belong to the Haifeng–Dabu Fault of the Lianhua Mountain Fault Zone, where the northwest side is uplifting and the southeast side is subsiding. Along this fault line, there are 26 hot springs, such as those in Haifeng Gongping, Luhe Hetian, Jiexi Hepo, and Wujingfu. Fengshun County alone accounts for fourteen of them. The hot springs are distributed like a string of pearls, all part of the same system. Not only does Fengshun have numerous surface hot springs, but it also boasts extremely abundant underground thermal mineral water resources. For instance, Guangdong’s most famous hot spring, which once had a maximum daily extraction capacity of around 2,000 m³, has long been depleted due to years of over-extraction. The term “hot spring” now only exists in name—the water can only be extracted from depths of several dozen meters and is declining year by year, with frequent warnings issued by relevant provincial government departments as reported in the Southern Daily News. In contrast, just one site in Fengshun—Dengwu—has a maximum daily extractable yield of 9,240 m³, while Fengliang has 5,500 m³, not to mention others. Geologically speaking, Fengshun County also ranks first in the province in terms of underground thermal mineral water reserves. As for radon water—a type of medicinal mineral water—Xinghua Hot Spring in Conghua has a maximum radon level of 59.13 Ma, whereas Fengshun’s Dengwu Hot Spring reaches 100.94 Ma, both measured through years of on-site dynamic monitoring.

Among the many hot springs in Fengshun, the most famous is Tangkeng Hot Spring in the county seat, known for its high flow rate, discharging over 2,600 tons of water per day. Nowadays, most hotels in the county are hot spring hotels, allowing visitors to enjoy a relaxing soak in the comfort of their accommodations. For those seeking a more lively experience, there is a public bathhouse in the county town. It features a large-scale natural hot spring facility covering an area of over 1,800 square meters, with separate baths for men and women—currently the largest of its kind in Guangdong.