Qixianling National Hot Spring&Forest Park

4 min read

You may have heard about the flourish tropical forest here，but，do you know the special springwater here？Well，next，we will go to Qixianling National Hot Spring&Forest Park.In the park，you can see wonderful tropical rainforest while enjoying the wild spring water.

Qixianling National Spring & Forest Park is located in the northeast side of Baoting Li and Miao Autonomous County, Hainan Province. It is 7 km away from the urban area. The park has a superior natural environment and lush vegetation. The annual average temperature is about 23C, and the highest average temperature in months is about 27C while the lowest is about 18℃. It is warm in winter and cool in summer, and suitable for living all through the year.I have to say you make a wise decision to go here to spend your holiday.

The name Qixianling means seven fairies-like ridges in English. The front ridge and also the highest, is about 1,107 meters above sea level. The other six are smaller. In the early morning, among the fog, looked from a distance, these seven ridges look like seven fairies in soft chiffon. But when the sun comes out, and the fog disappears, these seven ridges look like seven sharp sword thrown into the air. There is a beautiful story about how these seven ridges come into being. It is said that in ancient times, this area is called Nandi. There were many warm springs in this place. The people living here used to have hot spring bath to release their fatigue after they finished their farm work. And it is believed that the hot spring water can heal any illness and make people stay in good healthy condition. The bath can also bring good fortune and a long happy life. For the girls, they believed that taking hot spring water bath can make their skin more smooth and make them more pretty. It was heard by Wangmu, the goddess of the heaven, who had seven beautiful daughters. So she sent her daughters to find out whether the magic spring water really existed. When the seven fairies reached Nandi, they were amazed by what they saw. The mountain was green surrounded by colorful clouds, people were having fun in the hot spring water, birds were singing in the forest, and the flowers were in full blossom and swinging in the wind. They were absorbed in the beautiful scenery which came to their sight. So they never went back to the heaven, and turned into seven beautiful ridges to stay here forever.

People here are mostly Li people and Miao people. All through the years, they lived around this spring water area, and they splashed in the water and formed a tradition gradually. There are many activities such as labbering at each other, having water fights, playing ducks and drakes, rowing bamboo raft, etc. These activities together with the romantic story have sublimated into a special ethnic culture. To protect and inherit this tradition, the government of Baoting decided to hold Qixianling Hot Spring Dabbling Festival on every July 7th in the lunar year since 2002, which is the Valentine’s Day of China. This festival records the lifestyle and customs of Li and Miao people. It’s mysterious and special, but it is all rooted in daily life. If you are interested in the festival, you can pay a second time visit on July 7th. You can come here withyour family members to enjoy the interesting activities and relax yourselves in the naturalenvironment.

When it comes to the Hot Spring Dabbling Festival, we can not skip the spring water. Well,I will make a brief introduction about the spring water here. Around the area of Qixianling, there are seven flowing spring vents, and the amount of hydraulic discharge in a day is about 7,000 tons. The highest temperature of the spring water is as high as 93C. There are many microelements and mineral substance in the spring water, such as potassium, sodium, calcium, ammonium, magnesium, iron, iodine, bromine and fluorine, which have special curative effects on many diseases, such as rheumatism neurasthenia, hypertension and skin disease, and also have good effects on allaying tiredness, health care and skin care.

You may doubt that the proportion of tropical rainforest here is not as large as Jianfengling National Forest Park or Diaoluoshan National Forest Park, and you can also go to Lanyang hot spring section or Xinglong hot spring section to have spring bath. But, if you want to experience the mysterious tropical rainforest while enjoying the hot spring bath, Qixianling is your only choice. In the current time, the combination of tourism resource-spa plus tropical rainforest-only exists in Qixianling. This is the unique selling point of this tourist attraction. The environment of Qixianling National Hot Spring & Forest Park is quite different from our cities. We are long being stuck in city life, and we need to relax ourselves now and then. And in this place, you can see fields and villages around, full of the delight of wildness. You can enjoy coolness, breathe fresh air, and get into the real leisure time far from the madding crowd.

Apart from the seven beautiful ridges，there are seven winding creeks.Theyflow down from the north side of the ridges，and meet the hot water of the spring lake，forming an interesting phenomenon.The water of the creek is half hot and half cold.People call it Mandarin Duck Spring.I believe you are curious about the creek.You can touch it with your hand to feel the temperature.Different from your curiosity，the local people have already got used to it，and they use the water to irrigate their fields.