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Hot springs, the hot
tears of the earth, are one of the most precious gifts that the earth
has given to us. Ever since ancient times, people have recognized the
rejuvenating and therapeutic properties of these natural resources.
Taiwan, is ranked among the world's top 15 hot spring sites, harboring
a great variety of springs, including hot springs, cold springs, mud
springs, and seabed hot springs. The island can proudly regard itself
as one of the regions with the highest concentration and greatest
variety of hot springs in the world.
Hot springs are formed by natural waters that emerge from the bowels
of the earth and that possess therapeutic properties said to have a
positive effect on disorders of the nervous and digestive systems, the
circulation, and the organs. People have used hot springs to keep in
good health for ages. In Taiwan, with its peculiar crustal structure
and location on the fault line where the Euro-Asian and Philippine
continental plates meet in the Circum-Pacific seismic zone,
subterranean heat is spread across the island producing hot springs
island-wide. With the exception of Changhua, Yunlin and Penghu
counties, almost every city and county in Taiwan is equipped with hot
springs, and so it is not strange that by some Taiwan is also called
"the Hot Spring Kingdom".
More than one hundred hot springs have been discovered in Taiwan,
located in different geological areas including plains, mountains,
valleys, and oceans. The highest concentration of hot springs can be
found in northern Taiwan, where the Tatun Volcano is located, while
along both sides of the central mountain range, covering an area that
to the north is bordered by Yilan and to the south by Pingtung, the
largest number of hot springs can be found. Hot springs found here
make up more than 80% of all hot springs in Taiwan.
As hot springs generally come from deep below the surface of the
earth, when they emerge they bring along a high concentration and
great variety of minerals that are mostly foreign to the human body
and benefit our general health. Specific properties of hot springs
vary depending on chemical composition, mineral concentration and
water temperature. Taiwan has a great variety of springs, both cold
and hot. The Suao cold springs in Yilan County, for example, emit
sodium-carbonate bubbles, and can be compared to the cold springs of
Sicily in Italy and the recently discovered cold springs in Korea.
Taiwan even harbors one of the world's few mud springs (natural mud
springs have been discovered only in Guanziling in Tainan County,
Taiwan; Hokkaido in Japan; and Sicily in Italy) as well as one of the
few seabed hot springs (the only seabed hot springs can be found on
Green Island in Taitung, Taiwan; in Kyushu, Japan; and in Northern
Italy). Of course, each type of hot spring has its own specific
medicinal properties.
Distribution and therapeutic
properties of hot springs in Taiwan :
|
Type of hot
springs |
Therapeutic
Properties |
Location |
|
Sodium Carbonate
Springs |
Water from this type
of springs has no color and has a clear appearance, and is known
to help treat athlete's foot, arthritis, gastrointestinal
disorders, skin disease, and neuralgia. It also helps lower the
blood pressure and reduce stress of the heart. Sodium carbonate
springs are the most common type of hot springs in Taiwan, and
because of the sodium carbonate bubbles the water can be made
into a refreshing beverage. The Suao cold springs are a classic
example of sodium carbonate springs which are reputed to relieve
constipation and promote diuresis and improve one's appetite as
well as gastrointestinal health. |
North Taiwan: Renze
and Suao in Yilan County, Wulai in Taipei County , Siling in
Taoyuan County, Qingguan in Hsinchu County, Taian in Miaoli
County. Central Taiwan: Guguan in Taichung County, Dungpu and
Lushan in Nantou County.South Taiwan: Dagangshan, Bulao and
Baolai in Kaohsiung County, Sichongxi and Xuhai in Pingtung
County. East Taiwan: Wenshan and Hongye in Hualien County, Wulu
in Taitung County. |
|
Sulfur Springs |
Water from these
springs appears either yellow-brownish or milky and emits a
strong smell of rotten eggs. The minerals in the water have
positive therapeutic effects on skin disease, women's diseases,
asthma, neuralgia, arteriosclerosis, rheumatism and shoulder,
neck and wrist pains; they also have a detoxifying and mucolytic
effect . Limited oral intake can improve conditions such as
constipation and diabetes; however, a doctor should always be
consulted first. These springs are not suitable for inhalation
therapy. |
North Taiwan: Wanli
in Taipei County, Beitou and Yangmingshan in Taipei City.East
Taiwan: Green Island "Zhaori" in Taitung County (this spring
does not emit a strong sulfuric smell and the skin does not feel
sticky after soaking). |
|
Ferrous Springs |
Water from these
springs contains a high concentration of metallic elements, and
its properties include hematopoiesis, which is why it can help
treat anaemia, women's diseases, menopause problems, an
underdeveloped uterus and chronic eczema. In addition to
bathing, the ferrous water is also drinkable and can alleviate
anaemia and treat fatigue. |
East Taiwan: Ruisui
in Hualien County. |
|
Sodium
Hydrogencarbonate Springs |
The colorless and
odorless water from these springs beautifies the skin,
accelerates tissue regeneration, and promotes metabolism and
blood circulation. It also has positive effects on
gastrointestinal disorders, cholecystitis (inflammation of the
gall bladder), neuralgia, arthritis, external injury, liver
disease, allergies, chronic skin disease, measles, etc. |
North Taiwan: Jiaoxi
in Yilan County, Wulai in Taipei County.East Taiwan: Zhiben in
Taitung County. |
|
Mud Springs (spring
water contains alkaline and iodine, is salty and has a light
sulfuric smell) |
The water from these
springs appears gray or even black, and helps treat skin
disease, neuralgia, and gastrointestinal disorders. After
bathing in these waters, the skin feels soft, thus having earned
the name of natural cosmetic. Glacial marine mud is obtained by
the cooling of mud from these springs. |
South
Taiwan: Guanziling in Tainan County. |
|
Salt or Hydrogen
Sulfide Springs |
The water from these
springs has positive effects on skin disease, women's diseases,
and problems of intestines and stomach. |
East Taiwan: Andong
in Hualien County. |
The German Quely first
discovered the Beitou hot springs in 1894, and when the Japanese
occupied Taiwan, they brought with them their rich culture of spring
soaking which greatly influenced Taiwan. In March 1896, Hirado Gengo
from Osaka, Japan opened Taiwan's first hot spring hotel, called
Tenguan. This not only heralded a new era of hot spring bathing in
Peitou, but also paved the way for a whole new hot spring culture. The
four most famous hot springs during the Japanese occupation were
Beitou, Yangmingshan, Guanziling and Sichongxi. However, after 1945
the hot spring culture in Taiwan gradually lost momentum, and only in
1999 did the authorities again started large-scale promotion of
Taiwan's hot springs, initiating a comeback of the hot spring culture
and setting off a new hot spring fever.
While in the past hot springs mainly had a recreational function,
present development and usage of Taiwan's hot springs not only focuses
on the traditional aspect of soaking, but also includes health
benefits as a major drawing point of hot springs. Modern applications
of hot springs include hydrotherapy, spring pools, spring saunas,
spring massage pools, health bathing houses, and spring health
centers. Many enterprises have invested in the construction or
renovation of spring hotels, and have even purchased modern scientific
hot spring equipment, transforming the traditional concept of hot
spring soaking into the added-value concept of hot spring
hydrotherapy. Now, while enjoying the traditional comfort of soaking
in a hot spring, people can receive additional health benefits by
taking advantage of the physical properties of water using hydro jets
that splash columns of water onto the body, ultra-sonic massage
equipment, and the water's natural buoyancy, made possible through the
installation of modern equipment and the professional assistance of
hot spring hydrotherapists.
Next to their therapeutic effects, hot springs can also be used to
boil eggs, irrigate crops and grow animals. The Jiaoxi hot springs,
for example, are also used to grow water convolvulus (empty-stemmed
vegetable) and raise softshell turtles, while hot springs in the
Zhiben, Renze, Lushan and Sichongxi areas all have egg-boiling
facilities. Because most of Taiwan's hot springs are located in
beautiful scenic areas, when going to soak in one of the numerous hot
springs you will not only be able to get away from hectic life in the
city but will also be given the opportunity to enjoy gorgeous scenery
while listening to the voices of nature, thus adding a new dimension
to recreation and health. Therefore, coming to Taiwan on a hot spring
tour will definitely pay off! |
