[2025 Jinan Attraction] Travel Guide for Shuyu Spring (Updated Apr)

| A Must-See in Jinan. Baotu Spring, honored by Emperor Qianlong as the "Best Spring in the World," is more than just the three gushing streams you see in textbooks. Discover local secrets and experience the poetic charm of Jinan, a city where "every house has spring water, every household has weeping willows." First Impression: Textbook Images Come to Life Enter the park at 7 am, before the morning mist clears, and hear Baotu Spring's symphony. In front of Guanlan Pavilion, three springs gush at 1.5 meters per second, creating pearl-like water droplets that shimmer in the morning light. Bring an empty bottle to collect the sweet, refreshing spring water and understand why Lao She said, "Without this spring, Jinan would lose half its beauty." Ancient Architecture: Uncovering Centuries-Old Secrets Luoyuan Hall Couplets: Before taking photos, examine the couplets by Qing Dynasty calligrapher Wang Zhonglin: "Clouds and mist moisten the blossoms, waves crash against Daming Lake." You're standing where Zhao Mengfu created his masterpiece, "Baotu Spring." Dual Imperial Stele: Emperor Kangxi's inscription "Jituan" (rapid currents) shares a stele with Emperor Qianlong's poem, a dialogue across time, testament to Jinan's bond with its springs. Wanzhu Garden: Through the moon gate, in the courtyard housing the Li Kuchan Memorial Hall, the "Qingyin Pool," formed by Taihu rocks and spring water, plays a natural symphony. Unique Photo Spots: Capture Stunning Images 1. Xuegao Pavilion Corner: Use Guanlan Pavilion as the foreground and a slow shutter speed to capture the silky flow of the spring water (tripod needed). 2. Worry-Free Spring Reflection: Before 10 am on a sunny day, crouch at the southwest corner of the spring pool to capture the perfect reflection of the pavilion and weeping willows. 3. Li Qingzhao Memorial Hall: The white marble statue complements Shuyu Spring, ideal for traditional portraits. Hidden Gems Nearby: Unlock New Experiences Spring Water Surprise: Walk 15 minutes to Black Tiger Spring and experience the local tradition of "drawing spring water" with a bottle tied to a rope. Old Street Delights: Stroll through Wulongtan to Tongyuanqian Street and enjoy tea brewed with spring water in a century-old teahouse. Nighttime Spectacle: Every Friday and Saturday evening, from 7 to 9 pm, a mesmerizing light show illuminates the south gate's archway. Practical Tips Tickets: CNY 40 (March–November), CNY 20 (December–February), half price for students Opening Hours: 7 am–7 pm (extended to 9 pm during peak season) Transportation: Bus K51/K66 to Baotu Spring East Gate Nearby Food: Lao Zhou's Beef Pancakes just outside the north gate, perfect with a bowl of mutton soup. Standing before the Baixue Tower stage, listening to a Shandong Kuaishu performance of "Wu Song Beats the Tiger," you'll understand the carefree spirit of Jinan. This city, nurtured by spring water, offers unexpected delights at every turn.

🌈Basic Information • Opening hours: April 10 to October 9, 7:00 am to 7:00 pm; October 10 to April 9, 7:00 am to 6:00 pm. • Ticket price: CNY 40/person, half price for students, free for children under 1.4 m, seniors over 60, and others with valid ID. • Location: No. 1 Baotuquan South Road, Lixia District, Jinan City. 🚙Transportation • Bus: Take bus routes 1, 5, 41, 49, K51, and many others. • Subway: Take subway line 2 to Baotuquan North Gate Station and walk for 5 minutes. 🏔️Tour Routes • Express route: Enter through the south gate, go straight to the Baotu Spring, then visit Guanlan Pavilion and Li Qingzhao Memorial Hall, and finally exit through the north gate. • In-depth route: Enter through the east gate, visit Wanzhu Garden, Baixue Tower, Cultural and Creative Center, Turtle Stone, Shuyu Spring, Li Qingzhao Memorial Hall, Famous Springs Area, Three Halls Scenic Area, Baotu Spring Scenic Area, and exit through the south gate. 📸Must-see Attractions • Baotu Spring: Admire the unique spectacle of the three springs "gushing like wheels" and enjoy tea at Guanlan Pavilion while watching the spring. • Li Qingzhao Memorial Hall: Learn about the life and works of the female poet and take classical-style photos. • Wanzhu Garden: The garden is filled with serene bamboo groves and ancient buildings, perfect for taking photos. 🍱Nearby Food • Bazirou (Braised Pork): Available at the entrance of the scenic area, the fatty and lean meat is delicious when eaten with pancakes. • Youxuan (Spiral Fried Dough): Enjoy it with Tianmo (a type of thick porridge) for an authentic Jinan flavor.

Hey guys! 👋 You have to check out this Jinan travel guide. Jinan after a snowfall is so beautiful that it will leave you speechless. The city becomes a romantic wonderland. 🥰 With its blue bricks, black tiles, and slow boats, the cold city of springs becomes a vivid picture in the snow. Strolling through the snow with an oil-paper umbrella, you can truly appreciate the city's unique charm and romance, as if you have traveled back in time. 🕰️ 📍 Address: Ming Shui Ancient City, Qingzhao Spring City, Zhangqiu, Jinan. A place full of endless charm. 🚄 Transportation: If you take the high-speed train, you can get off at Zhangqiu Station or Zhangqiu North Station, and take a taxi for about 20 minutes to get there. If you choose to drive, just navigate to the Zhangqiu Mingshui Ancient City Tourist Center. 🚗 📝 Travel Route ● Day 1: Start your ancient city tour along Confucian Business Street, visit the cloth shop to experience traditional crafts, visit the Meng Family Courtyard to appreciate the historical charm, walk through Huxian Street and Mingshui Street, then visit the yamen to feel the ancient majesty, then check in at the sauce garden, post office, and oil mill to experience the ancient city's fireworks. 🎇 ● Day 2: Be sure to visit the former residence of Li Qingzhao and Shuyu Spring to explore the traces of the talented woman; don't miss the tranquility of Meihua Spring and Longquan Temple; Moquan and Jinjing Spring also have their own characteristics, and each place is full of stories. 📜 🏮 New Year Activities 1. Yian Poetry Club 📍 Shilou Square: A super fun event to make friends through poetry! You can participate in poetry interactions on site, and if you win, you can get a blind box gift. Isn't it super tempting? 🎁 2. Fire Tree Silver Flower 📍 Dongmawan: A real-life version of the fire tree silver flower, with iron flowers splashing on dead trees, instantly lighting up the night sky. Every time the iron flowers bloom, it is super shocking and will definitely be a feast for your eyes. 🔥 3. Zhangqiu Bangzi 📍 Sanwei Theater: This is a local traditional opera genre, with performances throughout the day. You can also go to the second floor to enjoy tea and listen to the opera, and feel the unique charm of traditional opera. 🎶 4. Spring Show + Drone Show 📍 Spring Show Area: A nighttime audio-visual feast! Drones form various patterns in the night sky, combined with constantly changing fountains, it is simply amazing. ✨ 5. Year of the Snake Zodiac Exhibition: It is the Year of the Snake, come and see the Year of the Snake zodiac works and feel the strong New Year atmosphere. 🐍 6. Intangible Cultural Heritage Market: New Year Intangible Cultural Heritage Temple Fair, Fire Pot Flying Man, Shandong Yangko, Zhangqiu Core, Chaoshan Intangible Cultural Heritage Yingge Dance, as if you have traveled back to the prosperous Song Dynasty, it is very lively. 🎉 ⭐️ Accommodation and Food Recommendations For accommodation, it is recommended to choose an inn or hotel in the ancient city, so you can enjoy the charming night view of the ancient city, and it is also very convenient to play the next day. As for food, you can't miss the authentic Shandong cuisine. The roasted meat and roasted meat buns at the roasted meat restaurant are highly recommended. Take a bite and feel full of happiness. 😋 Guys, aren't you tempted by such a Jinan? 💖

Baotu Spring in winter has a unique charm [Tiptop] 🎫Ticket Information The ticket to Baotu Spring is 40 yuan. There are corresponding discount policies for student ID cards and senior citizen ID cards. Don’t forget to bring your ID. You can buy tickets on WeChat official account or scan the QR code on site, which is very convenient. [Highway] Tour route Enter from the south gate, and you can see the eye-catching "Baotu Spring" stone tablet as soon as you enter. This is a must-see spot, so take a photo quickly. Walking along the main road, you will soon hear the sound of gurgling water. This is the core of Baotu Spring - the three streams of Baotu Spring. In winter, a thin layer of mist floats on the water surface, as if a layer of veil is covering the spring water, making it look like a dream. Standing by the spring, you can feel the warm water vapor blowing on your face, forming a wonderful contrast with the cold outside. Then go to Shuyuquan, where the Li Qingzhao Memorial Hall is nearby. Walk into the memorial hall to learn about the life of this talented woman and feel the graceful tenderness in her writing. After coming out of the Memorial Hall, you can visit Mapao Spring, Wuyou Spring, etc. Each spring has a unique story. Going further north, we passed Wanzhu Garden, a typical Ming and Qing style garden with swaying bamboo shadows, quiet and elegant. In winter, the bamboo remains green, contrasting with the white walls and gray tiles, like an ink painting. [9:00] Play time It is recommended to visit for 3-4 hours and enter the park around 9 am to avoid the morning rush hour and fully enjoy the sunshine. 🍱Food recommendations After the tour, there are many delicious foods around Baotu Spring. Go and have a bowl of sweet rice with some fried dough twists, this is Jinan’s special breakfast combination. The fried dough sticks have a sweet and salty taste, the skin is crispy and the aroma of green onions is everywhere. If you want to have a full meal, try the pork belly. It is fatty but not greasy and melts in your mouth. It is delicious when paired with rice.

Shandong Tourist Attractions I. Introduction Mingshui Ancient City is located in Zhangqiu District, Jinan City, Shandong Province. It is a tourist destination that combines history, culture, and natural scenery. Here, you will find the blue bricks and tiles, small bridges, and flowing water of Jiangnan, as well as crystal-clear springs and large ancient buildings. Walking through the city, you will feel as if you have traveled through time and space, back to the time of Li Qingzhao's poetry. II. Travel Route 1. Day 1: West Gate Visitor Center → Changhong Bridge → Mingshui Street → Meng Hongsheng Cloth Shop → Meng Family Courtyard → Fox Fairy Garden Party → Ancient City Yashu → Song Dynasty Post Office → Lotus Banquet → Spring Show 2. Day 2: Morning Wine Market → Rowing Boat → Moquan Spring → Longquan Temple → Baimai Spring → Former Residence of Li Qingzhao III. Recommended Attractions 1. **Longquan Temple**: A thousand-year-old temple, home to the famous Baimai Spring. The ancient temple is quiet, with a large "Buddha" character hanging high, making it a perfect photo background. 2. **Meng Family Courtyard**: The residence of the descendants of Mencius, with wonderful opera performances often held in the theater. 3. **Former Residence of Li Qingzhao**: There are many springs, such as Shuyu Spring and Plum Blossom Spring, and the sight of water flooding the steps is particularly spectacular. 4. **Mingshui Street**: Built along the river, it is full of the smoke and fire of Jiangnan, where you can experience the rich culture of the city. 5. **Fox Fairy Garden Party**: Dress up in Hanfu and tour the ancient city, experiencing the fun of an immersive garden party. 6. **Spring Show**: The night spring show features a light show and drone performance, as well as various performances combining classical and modern elements. IV. Recommended Food 1. **Morning Wine Market**: Taste local specialties at 9:00 am, such as sweet soup, hanging stove biscuits, and spring lamb soup. 2. **Weilu Shishi**: Go to the theater, drink tea, and listen to opera, with snacks to warm you up. V. Transportation Guide 1. High-speed rail: Take the high-speed rail from Qingdao, Beijing, Shanghai, and other places to Zhangqiu Station or Zhangqiu North Station, and then transfer to local transportation to the scenic area. 2. Self-driving: You can drive to the scenic area from the surrounding areas of Shandong, and navigate directly to Mingshui Ancient City Scenic Area. VI. Tips 1. Pay attention to the opening hours of the scenic area: 9:00–22:00. 2. Buy boat tickets and admission tickets in advance to avoid delays. 3. Wear comfortable shoes and clothes for easy travel. 4. Bring a camera to capture beautiful moments. Come and visit this hidden Jiangnan town and experience a different Shandong style!

I always thought that the Jiangnan water towns in Zhejiang were the most beautiful, but I was surprised to find an even more enchanting snow-covered Jiangnan at the Former Residence of Li Qingzhao in Zhangqiu, Jinan, Shandong! Here, it feels like traveling through time and experiencing the "drunkenness that makes you forget your way home" described by Li Qingzhao. 📍Attraction: Mingshui Ancient City, Qingzhao Spring City, Zhangqiu, Jinan, Shandong **🚄Transportation: Take a high-speed train to Zhangqiu Station/Zhangqiu North Station, then take a taxi for only 10–20 minutes. **🚶Recommended itinerary: **Day 1: Visitor Center → Changhong Bridge → Confucian Business Street → Cloth Workshop → Meng Family Courtyard → Huxian Street → Mingshui Street → Yamen → Tofu Workshop → Sauce Garden → Post Office → Oil Workshop → Newspaper Office **Day 2: Former Residence of Li Qingzhao → Shuyu Spring → Plum Blossom Spring → Longquan Temple (Baimai Spring) → Mo Spring → Golden Mirror Spring **🎆Unmissable performances: **✅Yian Poetry Party Location: City Tower Square Participate in poetry interactions and have a chance to win a mysterious blind box gift! **✅Fireworks Location: Dongmawan The iron flower performance is a spectacular show that breathes new life into dead trees! **✅Zhangqiu Bangzi Location: Sanwei Theater A provincial intangible cultural heritage opera, enjoy tea and music, and feel the traditional charm. **✅Spring Show + Drone Show Location: Spring Show Area A three-dimensional visual feast of water, land, and air, showcasing the spring scenery of the ancient city. **✅Lunar New Year limited events Wuzhen-style floating singers, Li Qingzhao lanterns, New Year temple fairs, Chaozhou Yingge dance, flying fire pots, fireworks festival... Exciting and unmissable! **✨Other travel tips: **✔️**Get a travel map at the Visitor Center for easier check-ins! **✔️**The performance times vary, you can check the performance times and location navigation through the "Mingshui Ancient City" mini program. Come to Mingshui Ancient City, Qingzhao Spring City, Zhangqiu, Jinan, Shandong, and experience the unique beauty of the snow-covered Jiangnan!

On the way down Mount Tai to Yantai, we stayed in Jinan for one night. We still had half a day to take a quick tour, including visiting Baotu Spring, Daming Lake and Grand View Garden, and tasting authentic Shandong cuisine. Although the north is short of water, Jinan is known as the "Water City" and the "Spring City", and it is said to have seventy-two famous springs. Baotu Spring is located in the center of Jinan city, with Thousand Buddha Mountain to the south, Spring City Square to the east and Daming Lake to the north. It ranks first among the 72 famous springs in Jinan and is known as "the best spring in the world". It is the symbol and landmark of Jinan, the City of Springs, and is known as one of the three major scenic spots in Jinan together with Thousand Buddha Mountain and Daming Lake. The spring water is divided into three streams, gushing out day and night. The so-called "Bao Tu" means jumping and rushing, reflecting the characteristics of the three orifices of Baotu Spring bursting and gushing endlessly. At the same time, "Bao Tu" is used to imitate the "boo du" sound when the spring water gushes, which is absolutely wonderful. When Emperor Kangxi of the Qing Dynasty traveled to the south, he visited Baotu Spring and was so excited that he wrote the two big words "Jituan" (turbulent) on it and named it "the best spring in the world." Some of my companions questioned the height of the spring water and thought there must be a water pipe buried underground. They could only smile. Little did people know that the original spring water could spray "two or three feet high", "rising up and leaping, like three pillars standing in a tripod, competing for height, and refusing to be inferior to each other. Now, because the groundwater level is not high, the spring can only spray a few dozen centimeters. Normally, when I see the Pearl Spring and the bubbling water, I get very excited. Compared with Baotu, there is a world of difference. At Shuyuquan, we visited the memorial hall of Li Qingzhao, the greatest talented woman of all time. Guo Moruo inscribed the poem "Passed down through the ages", and there is a white marble statue of Li Qingzhao in the hall. There are also the Memorial Hall of painting master Li Kuchan and the Memorial Hall of famous painter Wang Xuetao in the park. Due to limited time, I could only have a quick tour, which is a pity. Walk north for less than a quarter of an hour and you will arrive at Daming Lake, one of the three major scenic spots in Jinan. Daming Lake has a long history. Its name originated from the Water Classic by Li Daoyuan in the Northern Wei Dynasty. The book records that "Luoshui flows north to become Daming Lake, Daming Temple is to the west, and there are lakes on the east and west sides." Marco Polo wrote in his Travels in China: "The gardens are beautiful and pleasing to the eyes, and the scenery of lakes and mountains is overwhelming." Daming Lake is formed by the confluence of many springs. It flows out of Xiaoqing River and into Bohai Sea. It has the characteristics of "not rising even in heavy rains and not drying up even in long droughts". Most tourists who visit Daming Lake will be attracted by the "Daming Lake" plaque, and I am no exception. The reason is why the character "Ming" in Daming Lake has an extra horizontal line? There is a team next to us, and the tour guide is explaining: One reason is that in ancient times, the water of Baotu Spring was several feet high, and the stele was washed down several times. So in the Ming Dynasty, Jinan Prefecture asked Shandong Governor Hu Jinzong to write and erect the stele. On the Dragon Boat Festival, the prefectural officials erected a stone tablet engraved with "Baotu Spring" at the source of Baotu Spring. However, it was soon discovered that the two dots on the character "突" were washed away by the surging spring water, and it was said that they were washed into Daming Lake, and one of the dots remained on "明". Second, the three characters "Daming Lake" were copied from the Daming Lake Stele in the Jiaqing period of the Qing Dynasty. The "目月" composed of "明" is a calligraphy style. In the art of calligraphy, strokes are often added or subtracted for the sake of balance or beauty of the font structure. The third theory is that calligraphers in the Qing Dynasty wrote an extra stroke in order to avoid the "Ming" of the Ming Dynasty. Such explanations add a lot of fun to the tour. Entering the park, you will see pavilions, towers, winding paths and corridors, as well as calligraphy by literati. Among them, the couplet "lotus flowers on four sides, willows on three sides, mountains in one city and lakes in half of the city" is particularly praised by people. The pavilions and corridors along the lake are well-proportioned, with willows dipping in the water and lotus flowers swaying in the wind. There are Jiaxuan Temple, Xia Garden, Minghu Residence, Qiuliu Garden, Nanfeng Temple, Zhanggong Temple, Huibo Tower, Beiji Pavilion, Tiegong Temple, Xiaocanglang, and in the lake there are Lixia Pavilion, Huiquan Hall and other famous places of interest. The Grand View Garden was built in 1931 and has a history of more than 90 years. It is ancient and popular, and is another distinctive tourist attraction after the "three major scenic spots in Jinan", namely Baotu Spring, Daming Lake and Thousand Buddha Mountain. In the past, many old people in Jinan liked the "worldly atmosphere" of the Grand View Garden. Now, many young people of the new generation like its "worldly fragrance". Shandong cuisine is one of the four major traditional Chinese cuisines and the first of the eight major cuisines. "Sweet and Sour Crucian Carp" is a traditional specialty of Jinan, Shandong. The Yellow River crucian carp in Jinan is not only plump and delicious, but also has golden scales and red tails, and is adorable in appearance. It is definitely worth tasting [ThumbsUp] Jinan, Shandong