Constructed in 1927, the Southern Hot Springs Park is located in the southern suburbs about 18 kilometers (11 miles) from Chongqing City. Just as its name implies, this park is renowned for its hot springs. Originally, the southern hot springs were discovered in the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and became a bath house in the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911). After liberation, it has been developed into a famous tourist attraction. The Southern Hot Springs Park has about 110 bathrooms and three swimming pools - outdoor and indoor swimming pools with one for children. The hot springs contain abundant minerals and taking a hot spring bath can rejuvenate body metabolism and cure some diseases, such as those of the skin, arthritis and rheumatism.
The Southern Hot Springs Park is celebrated for its appealing natural scenic spots as well as some cultural and historical sites. It has green hills covered with verdant forests, limpid streams and crystal springs, magnificent waterfalls and secluded caves. One of the most popular of these is the Fairy Cave. Legend has it that once a village girl practiced asceticism in the cave and finally became immortal; hence its name. Outside the cave is the statue of the Fairy who looks like a village girl. The Fairy Cave is of karst topography and about 30 meters high (98 feet) and 1,000 meters (3,281 feet) deep. Inside tourists can see wonderful stalactites and stalagmites in various shapes. Along the Huaxi River in the park is a magic pond which is fed by the water from a spring. This pond can forecast the weather. If the water is clear, the weather will be fine; otherwise, it will rain. Thus, it is called Qing Yu Spring which means sunny (Qing) and rainy (Yu) in Chinese.
The cultural and historical sites are almost on the Jianwen Peak. Initially, it was called the Jianyu Mountain. It is said that Emperor Jianwen of the Ming Dynasty once lived there as a Buddhist monk. The Mansion of Kong Xiangxi and the Villa of Lin Sen are the two main attractions on the mountain. Kong (1880-1967) was the Finance Minister and the president of the central bank and Bank of China of the Kuomintang Government. Lin (1868-1943) once served as the President of the National Government of the Republic of China. In addition, tourists can go to the Chongqing Stone Appreciation and Exhibition Hall to enjoy grotesque stones of other provinces in China.
