According to historical records and archeological documents, the Huaqing Hot Springs has a history of 6000 years for the use of hot springs and a history of 3000 years of royal gardens. Over these years, the cultural relics excavated near the source of hot springs prove that over 6000 years ago primitive residents had used the hot spring. In West Zhou, King Youwang ordered the construction of “Li Palace” on the site. Then the emperors of the following dynasties join in the line. After Emperor Xuan Zong ascended the throne, he commanded the construction of Huaqing Palace on a large scale. The construction was built along the Lishan Mountain’s range, and the former spring well was designed into a pool. Roads were built to reach the top of Lishan Mountain and one two-way road to Changan linked Huaqing Palace with Daming Palace and Xingqing Palace in the capital city. In the year 747 A.D., the new palace was completed and Emperor Xuan Zong named it “Huaqing Palace”. Because there are many hot spring pools in the palace, it is also called “Huaqing Hot Springs” With the third peak of Lishan Mountain and the source of hot springs on the axis and the hot springs as the center, the palace was laid out in four directions. This design, on the one hand, made a good use of the hot springs; on the other hand, it represented a precise and strict layout. Inside the palace, there were officials’ bureaus and houses and hot pools. In addition, some recreational places such as the “Rooster Fight Pit” and “Polo Field” etc. for Emperor Xuan Zong and Concubine Yang were also available. At that time, the history of Huaqing Hot Springs reached its climax.

 

Among the 2700-odd hot springs in China, Huaqing Hot Springs top the list for the water-quality and the touching love story of Tang Emperor Xuan Zong and his favorite concubine Yang Yuhuan. The springs have a constant temperature of 43℃. The water contains silicon dioxide, fluorine, and other minerals, which makes it suitable for bathing and the treatment of quite a few diseases such as rheumatism, arthritis etc. Therefore, the spa had been a tourist destination for many emperors. For example, for ten years from 745 A.D. to 755 A.D., Emperor Xuan Zong would lead Concubine Yang and her sisters to Huaqing Palace to spend his winter days. They would stay there from October of the lunar calendar to the next spring. As Bai Juyi, a famous Tang Dynasty poet, once wrote a few lines to describe how Concubine Yang took her bath. Thus Huaqing Hot Springs became famous and were entitled “The Oriental First Springs” ranking with the Thermae of Caracalla in ancient Rome and the Bath Hot Springs in Britain.

 

The ruins of the Imperial pools in the Tang Dynasty Huaqing Palace were discovered in April, 1982. After three years efforts of excavation and sorting out, five royal pools were discovered in an area of the 4600 square meters. Archaeologists proved them to be, the Lotus Flower Pool, Concubine Yang’s bath pool, the Crabapple Pool, Emperor Xuan Zong’s, the Star Pool, Emperor Tai Zong, the Crown Prince Pool and the Shangshi Pool. In addition, during the excavation tri-color backbone animals, lotus-shaped tiles and other cultural relics of Neolithic period, Qin and Han dynasties were unearthed. This discovery is another important achievement in China’s archeology about Sui and Tang dynasties. China’s bath custom, the feudal ranking system and the palatial architecture of Tang are further well documented.

 

The Nine-Dragon Lake, an artificial lake built in 1959, covers an area of about 5,300 square meters. With the Nine-Dragon Bridge laid across the surface, the lake is divided into two parts: the Upper Lake and the Lower Lake. In the upper part there is a modern fountain. On the Lower Lake, a Dragon Boat floats on the surface and a Statue of Concubine Yang, Emperor Xuan Zong’s favorite, stands not far away. To the west of the lake lies a stone-dam on which many characters and phrases praising the beauty of the lake are scribed.

 

Around the lake you will find many buildings in the Tang Dynasty architectural style such as the Marble Boat, the Nine-bend Corridor, the Chenxiang Hall, the Frost Drifting Hall, the Yichun Pavilion, etc. These buildings have red as their key color and are surrounded with green pines, weeping willows and grasses, completing a picturesque view.

 

The Lishan Mountain Hot Springs are praised as “The Finest Springs” for their long history and never dry up till now. Over thousands of years, the springs flow all day long , freed from the change of season. They were used by local people about 6000 years ago. From the Zhou Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty, emperors ordered bath pools built here. Gradually, they became the imperial bath pools. It was an honor for a court official to take a bath here. The “Fine Sunset-Bathed Pavilion” stands on the ancient source of the spring water, which was discovered 3,000 years ago. The springs have a flow if 113 tons an hour and a constant temperature of 43℃. The spring water is rich in minerals. An analysis shows that the water contains silicon dioxide, fluorine, and other minerals, which makes it suitable for bathing and the treatment of quite a few diseases such as dermatitis, rheumatism, arthritis etc. Its value in medical treatment was discovered some 2000 years ago, roughly in the Qin Dynasty. It was recorded in many books in different dynasties. In present bath area in the Huaqing Hot Springs, the pools inherit their names from those in the Tang Dynasty. They provide a fine place for guests to relax and appreciate the high-quality of spring water.

 

Changsheng Palace was the spot where Emperor Xuan Zong and Concubine Yang swore to love each other forever. Now it exhibits the cultural relics unearthed from the Tang Huangqing Palace and documents of the ruins. The Palace, originally built in 738 A.D., was the place where seats the sacrificial tablets of six emperors and the only empress Wu Zetian. The present Changsheng Palace was rebuilt in 2003 and is the exhibition hall for Huaqing Palace history and culture. With unearthed cultural relics and ruins documents as exhibits, it mirrors the most prosperous society during the Kaiyuan reign of Tang Dynasty and shows the royal culture during the Tianbao reign. The four-storey exhibition hall gives a systemic show of 6000 years’ history of Huaqing Hot Springs.

 

The exhibition hall on the first floor shows the palatial life and foreign affairs etiquette.

Exhibitions on the second floor focus on the politics connected with the Huaqing Palace ranging from the reign of Emperor Gao Zu, the first emperor of Tang, built the Tang Dynasty, to the reign of emperor Zhong Zong. This period paved the way for the Tang Dynasty to reach its zenith. The prosperous Tang Huaqing Palace reflected the prosperity of Tang culture.

 

On the third floor, visitors can get knowledge of the romance between Emperor Xuan Zong and his Concubine Yang.

 

A systematic show of 6000 years’ civilization of Huaqing Hot Springs is available on the forth floor.

 

Among the many building in Huaqing Pool Garden, there is a hall of brick and lumber structure named the Five-Room Hall. It gets its name for its comprising of five single rooms. With Mountain Li to its south and the lotus pool to its north, this garden has wide and level court yard planted with luxuriant green trees.

 

The Hall is a main magnificent building in the Guhuan Garden. Every red column of the front porch is so big that one can get his arms around. The Hall with the surrounding Three-Roomed Hall, the Wanghe Pavilion, the Flying Rainbow bridge and the Flying Rosy Cloud Pavilion completes a harmonic picture.

 

The Hall was built during late Qing Dynasty. In 1900 empress dowager Cixi flied Beijing and stayed here when The Eight-Power Allied Forced seized the capital city. In 1934, it was renovated and became a resort place for high officials.

 

In October and December of 1936, Chiang Kai Shek went to Shaanxi and stayed in the Five-Room Hall where he held high-ranking military meetings. Doggedly persisted in carrying the reactionary policy “domestic tranquility is a must for the resistance against the Japanese invaders”, he commanded the Northeast and Northwest Armies, headed by Zhang Xueliang and Yang Hucheng, attack the Red Army. In order to urge Chiang to fight against the Japanese invaders and save the country from crisis, the two generals put forward to Chiang the proposal of forming a united front with the Communist Party for the resistance drive, which, however, was rejected by Chiang. Thereupon, Zhang and Yang started the famous Xi’an Incident. On December 12, they ordered a squad of bodyguards, to surround the Huaqing Pool. They fought a fierce battle there. Heard the sound of firing in the bedroom, Chiang crept out of a window in his nightgown and slippers. What is more, he hurt his back and lost one of his slippers while crossing over the back wall. He staggered up Lishan Mountain under the support his guards, and hid himself behind a stone in a crevice. Later the brave soldiers began to search the mountain and found him. They escorted him to Xi’an. From west to east, the five rooms are secretary’s office, Chiang‘s bedroom, Chiang’soffice, the meeting room, and the office of Qian Dajun, head of his guards. The shot holes, which witnessed the fierce fight, can still be found in the panes and walls of the Hall. The copied furniture and other utensils in every room remain where the original ones were.