Water Mill Valley Hot Spring
2 min readWater Mill Valley scenic spot is a lkm long and narrow valley located 5km in the eastern suburb of Urumqi. In 1907, the yamen (local government) of the Qing Dynasty built a mill to grind flour with the hydraulic power in the valley, so it was named.
It is a famous scenic spot in Urumqi where are full of towering ancient trees and hundreds of springs. Pan Xiaosu, the first Governor in Guangxu Period of Qing dynasty named the springs here as the Musheng Spring, and erected the tablet of inscription. In the fourteenth year of Guangxu(1888), Zailan who was exiled to Xinjiang by Empress Dowager Cixi had built a Pavilion here, named”Xiaocao Pavilion”, and then the military built a water mill to process the military products, while the landscape was greatly spoiled. After theliberation of China, flowers and trees have been planted, pavilions and bridges have been built and recreational gardens have been opened up; at present, it has already become a tranquil and beautiful resort.
There are tens of fountains big or small in the valley, which gathered into a clear stream, flowing from south to north throughout the year. The towering ancient trees are on both sides, giving shade to the small bridges, the flowing stream, and the pavilions. The new developed park on the mountain slope is full of trees. and the fragrance of flowers makes the park beautiful and elegant; it has another kind of temperament and interest compared with other parks. There is a hot spring in the north part behind the valley, the water temperature is constant at 28C-30 C, with several trace elements which are beneficial to human health and the prevention of illness, such as radon, hydrogen sulfide, zinc, potassium, sodium, and magnesium, so the water was considered as the “holy water by the ancients for keeping fit and treating all the various illnesses. A Hot Spring Massage and Physical Therapy Hospital was built here in 1982, and it receives tens of thousands of people who come for the physical therapy.
