Yuewang Well

Yuewang Well

Yuewang Well (also known as Yuewangjing), located at the western end of Yingyuan Road within the provincial science museum compound, is the oldest well in Guangzhou. Legend has it that it was dug by Zhao Tuo, the King of Nanyue. Originally square-shaped and over ten feet wide, during the Song Dynasty, the local magistrate Yu Bogui covered it with large stone slabs and carved out nine wellheads to facilitate drawing water—hence it also came to be known as Jiuyan Well. A stone tablet inscribed with “Jiuyan Ancient Well” still remains today.

During the Nanyue Kingdom period, there was a Yuewang Palace on Yuexiu Mountain, and this well may have been exclusively used by the palace. Also, since there was a Yuewang Terrace on the mountain, it was also called Yue tai Well. Opposite the well are Qingquan Street and Qingquan Street Primary School, which were named after the well. Legend has it that Zhao Tuo once dropped a golden cup into the well, and it emerged 15 kilometers away at Shimen in the northern suburbs—leading to the belief that the well was connected to Shimen. Of course, this is just a legend. The Tang Dynasty’s Tongdian refers to “Tianjingkou” in Nanhai (Guangzhou), where Tianjing is Yuewang Well, and the gate is Shimen. The Ming Dynasty’s Qu Dajun, in his book Guangdong Xin Yu, described Yuewang Well as having “heavy water with a sweet taste, like the essence of jade,” adding that “Zhao Tuo drank this water, keeping his skin moist and supple, living over a hundred years with keen sight and hearing.” If it could be proven that the well water had beautifying effects, helped maintain sharp vision and hearing into old age, and even contributed to a long life, it would certainly be of great value for development and utilization.

Due to its strategic location, excellent water quality, and numerous beautiful legends, Yuewang Well naturally drew the attention—and even appropriation—of royal households and government offices.

Liu Yan, the King of Southern Han, once monopolized the well, calling it “Yulong Spring” and “prohibiting commoners from drawing water.” The Northern Song Dynasty literary giant Su Dongpo once wrote that “everyone in Guangzhou City” loved drinking water from this well, but unfortunately only “the wealthy and powerful could access the water from the King’s Well on Liuwang Mountain.” In the early Qing Dynasty, Shang Kexi, the Prince of Pingnan, exclusively controlled the well for ten years, erecting brick walls around it, stationing guards, and posting notices stating that anyone caught drawing water without permission would be whipped forty times.

During the Ming Dynasty’s Tian Shun era (1457–1464), the Guangzhou prefect assigned Yuewang Well as one of the city’s ten most famous springs (ranked eighth). In the early Republican period, warlord Long Jiguang once deployed dozens of soldiers to take turns pumping water in an attempt to clean out the abandoned well—it took two days to drain it, showing the well’s large capacity. In the old days, some teahouses in the city claimed to serve premium mountain-spring tea, using water from this renowned well to attract customers. As late as the 1950s, many residents still came to Yuewang Well to draw drinking water. After the 1960s, due to environmental degradation, long-term neglect, and sediment buildup at the bottom, the ancient well gradually lost its function as a drinking water source and became a historical site. In 1983, it was designated as a municipal-level cultural relic protection unit. Around the same time, discussions arose about developing the well’s water culture resources, while others proposed destroying the well for land use. Between 1996 and 1997, a controversy known as “destroy the well to protect the well” attracted widespread media coverage, eventually concluding with a decision to “restore the original appearance.”

Today, Yuewang Well has been developed into a scenic area. Behind a white stone plaque inscribed with “Yuewang Well” lies a winding pebble path symbolizing the “river of history,” leading to the ancient well. Above the well sits a pavilion with green tiles, red walls, and red pillars, featuring upturned eaves and traditional brackets in a classic and elegant style. At the top is a replica of a bronze vermilion sparrow (a long-necked bronze bird) from the decorative screen unearthed in the Nanyue King’s Tomb, harmonizing the overall aesthetic with the tomb’s design. The transparent surrounding wall and lush garden make it a charming historical attraction in the ancient city. Not long ago, when experts were designing a plan for the city’s traditional central axis, they proposed restoring the Liumai Canal—from Yuewang Well in the north to Yudai River in the south—on the western side of the axis. The idea was to showcase the historical landscape where water from Yuewang Well flowed through the Liumai Canal into the sea via Yudai River, highlighting the concept of “six waterways connecting to the sea.” This proposal put the spotlight on Yuewang Well and caught the attention of relevant authorities.

Zhao Tuo (circa ?–137 BCE) was a renowned patriotic general during the Qin and Han periods, originally from Zhending (now Zhengding). He was among the earliest Qin Dynasty commanders to establish governance over Hong Kong, Macau, and the Lingnan region, making outstanding contributions to maintaining unity and ethnic solidarity in minority areas.

After Emperor Qin Shi Huang unified Central China, he embarked on the grand mission of establishing a multi-ethnic, unified Chinese empire, with the “Hundred Yue” regions of Lingnan as his primary military target. In 218 BCE, he dispatched generals Tu Sui and Zhao Tuo with an army of 500,000 to attack the Lingnan area. Due to Tu Sui’s indiscriminate killings... More details about Zhao Tuo ++