RIGHT BG
The Zhenjiang-based Zhongling Spring is reputed as "the best spring among the world" by Lu Yu, the Sage of tea from the Tang Dynasty. (Photo: the Modern Express)
The tea house neighbors the Zhongling Spring. (Photo: the Modern Express)
(ECNS) – A famous spring in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, has been contaminated by tap water, the Jiangsu-based Modern Express reported Wednesday.
Zhongling Spring, located on an island in a scenic spot in Zhenjiang, is famous for making tea since the Tang Dynasty.
A bottle of tea made with the spring water sells from 30 yuan ($4.95) to 260 yuan ($42.9) at a tea house neighboring the spring.
A tourist surnamed Shi said he was about to have a taste of the tea, but turbid water in the spring forced him to change his mind.
A netizen said that the spring's water has been coming from a tap rather than underground in recent years, which aroused discussions on the Internet. One commented that if the exposure was true, tourists spending money on the spring tea were being cheated.
A director at the scenic spot responded that reduced flow had harmed water quality, so tap water was piped in to replace the "bad" water.
An official at a scenic spots management committee in the city said they had conducted a geological survey of the spring. An expert suggested drilling a 300-meter-deep hole to draw underground water, which could resume the spring's fow.
Zhongling Spring is regarded as one of the four most famous springs in China, along with Baotu Spring in Shandong's Jinan, Hupao Spring in Zhejiang's Hangzhou, and Huishan Spring in Jiangsu's Wuxi.
Copyright ©1999-2018
Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
