Golden Sand Spring

Golden Sand Spring

　　　Product Name: Golden Sand Spring

　　Place of Origin: Huzhou City, Zhejiang Province.

　　Product Features: When brewed with Golden Sand water, Purple Bamboo Shoot tea exhibits a vibrant green color, a delicate orchid aroma, a sweet aftertaste, a refreshing mouthfeel, and a rich flavor.

　　Product Composition: Natural mineral water of the low-sodium, low-mineralization, strontium-containing, metasilicic acid-heavy calcium bicarbonate type. Rich in metasilicic acid.

　　Product Benefits: Calming, vision-improving, head-clearing, thirst-quenching, saliva-promoting, and fatigue-relieving.

　　Product Introduction: Located at the foot of Guzhu Mountain, Golden Sand Spring is a high-quality radon- and metasilicic acid-containing mineral water that has been certified at the national level. Currently, mineral waters under brands such as “Great Tang Tribute Spring,” “Golden Sand Spring,” and “Golden Sand Tribute Spring” are available on the market. It earned its name in the Tang Dynasty due to the phenomenon of “emerald spring water gushing forth with golden sand, shining like golden stars.” Why does Golden Sand Spring emerge from flat land? Because to the south lies Tiger Head Rock and to the north is Guzhu Mountain, placing us in the lowest area between the two mountains. The pressurized groundwater emerges year-round through the gaps between pebbles from the granite layers beneath. The famous Tang Dynasty poet Du Mu once praised it with the verse: “The tender spring gushes golden, the sprout tea is sliced from purple jade.” An ancient text titled “Tea Tasting” stated: “Brewing Purple Bamboo Shoot tea with Golden Sand water achieves perfection, while using water from other places yields only half the effect.” Brewing Purple Bamboo Shoot tea with Golden Sand water results in a vibrant green color, a delicate orchid aroma, a refreshing mouthfeel, and a rich flavor.

　　Product History: During the Dali era of the mid-Tang Dynasty, Purple Bamboo Shoot tea and Golden Sand Spring from Guzhu Mountain were listed as tribute items. The emperor had a particular fondness for Purple Bamboo Shoot tea and ordered the governors of Huzhou and Changzhou to “prepare the tribute” in person during the spring tea harvest season and to establish a Tribute Tea Bureau. From then on, this tribute practice continued uninterrupted for over 80 years, attracting literati who composed poems and inscribed their calligraphy. As a result, three groups of cliff inscriptions—totaling nine sites—remain preserved on Guzhu Mountain to this day: one inscribed in the fourth year of the Tang Kai Cheng era (839) by Yang Hangong, governor of Huzhou; another by Wang Zao, Academician of the Dragon Diagram Pavilion and Prefect of Huzhou, and Han Yinyin, Prefect of Huzhou, during the Southern Song Dynasty; and a third set located at Baiyang Mountain in Jinshan Village, featuring inscriptions by Yuan Gao, Yu Di, and Du Mu, governors of Huzhou, dated respectively to the first year of the Tang Xing Yuan era (784), the eighth year of the Zhenyuan era (792), and the fifth year of the Dazhong era (851). Another group is located at Laoyawu in Zhuoshe Gorge, featuring inscriptions by Pei Wen and Zhang Wengui, governors of Huzhou, from the first year of the Tang Dezong Xing era (784) and the year of Guihai (843). These stone inscriptions have been designated as county and provincial-level cultural heritage protection units and are well preserved. (From Volume 23, Culture, of the “Changxing County Annals”)

Product Legend: Beside the hall lies Golden Sand Spring, originally located inside the back gate of the temple. The spring never overflows its basin yet runs perennially. The rock above the spring is engraved with three large characters “Golden Sand Spring,” said to be handwritten by the Tang Dynasty poet Li Bai. The characters are bold, powerful, and structurally and spiritually similar to those of Yan Liben. Few authentic calligraphic works of Li Bai’s regular script survive, making authentication impossible. Next to the spring grows a “Money Tree,” said to have been planted by Li Bai. This tree is actually a species of willow known as Money Willow. Folklore regards it as one of the “Three Treasures of Jiuhua,” commonly referred to as “the Three Treasures of Jiuhua: Money Tree, Baby Fish, and Jangling Bird.” There is also a legend about this Money Tree: While leaning on his staff to buy wine, Li Bai hung his wine money on the staff. As there was no tavern in the mountains, he used water from the Heavenly Lake to brew wine on the spot. He planted his staff beside Golden Sand Spring, and unexpectedly, it grew into a lush, leafy Money Tree. This myth adds an enchanting allure to Golden Sand Spring, attracting many literati who came to boil tea with its water and compose poetry, often lingering there in awe.