Huaqing Pool

 ( Chinese Poetry Allusions ) 

Huaqing Pool (华清池), also known as the Huaqing Hot Springs (华清宫), are a complex of located in an area characterized by mild weather and scenic views at the northern foot of Mount Li, one of the three major peaks of the Qinling. The Huaqing Hot Springs are located approximately east of Xi'an (formerly Chang'an, the western capital of the Tang dynasty), in the province of Shaanxi, China.

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History The spring used the locally-occurring geothermal heating and features a long documented history of almost three millennia, having served as the location for several palaces built during the reigns of past Chinese dynastic rulers, including King You of the Zhou dynasty, Qin Shi Huang of the Qin dynasty, and an expanded version by Wu Han of the Han dynasty.

Under the Tang dynasty Taizong and Xuanzong, with the latter had the structure rebuilt in 723 as part of the Huaqing Palace (華清宮), and is famous as the supposed scene of Xuanzong's romance with his consort Yang Guifei. China: Five Thousand Years of History & Civilization (Hong Kong: City University of Hong Kong Press, 2007), p. 770. However, during the events associated with the An Lushan rebellion, considerable damage was done to the site. Nevertheless, the historical legacy of the Huaqing pools has received lasting commemoration, such as in the following mention of Emperor Xuanzong and Yang in Bai Juyi's poem Song of Everlasting Regret:

春寒賜浴華清池，溫泉水滑洗凝脂。

侍兒扶起嬌無力，始是新承恩澤時。

—長恨歌 ( Chang hen ge)

On a cold spring day, he bestowed upon her the honor of bathing with him at the Huaqing pools,

The waters of the hot springs were smooth, and washed over her pale white skin.

The palace maids helped her to leave the pool, because she was too delicate and lacked strength.

This was when she began to receive the emperor's advances.

This site was also the scene of the 1936 Xi'an Incident, when Chiang Kai-shek was kidnapped by former warlord Zhang Xueliang and forced to participate in a United Front with the Chinese Communist Party to oppose Imperial Japan.Ray Huang, China: A Macro History (New York: M.E. Sharpe, 1997), p. 4.

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Present Huaqing Pool is currently an important tourist spot, classified as a AAAAA scenic area by the China National Tourism Administration.

==Gallery==

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External links

• (English subtitle)

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