Dreaming of the Tiger Spring
Hangzhou
20 July 2009
The Dreaming of the Tiger Spring (虎跑梦泉), at the foot of Daci Hill, south of the West Lake, is advertised as having the "Third best spring-water in China". Legend has it that a monk in the 9th century, Xing Kong, lacked water, but one night he dreamed that two tigers would be sent to help him. The next day he woke to discover the tigers digging the ground with their claws, then water gushed out of the ground.
Visitors may help themselves to as much of the spring water as they can carry. Its high mineral content leads to effects such as a larger meniscus and higher buoyancy of items floated in the water (although in reality this is hard to observe without accurate measurements).
The Tiger Spring forest park also contains a memorial to the monk Ji Gong from Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279), and also to monk and polymath Li Shutong (1880-1942), including an exhibition of his music, painting and calligraphy.
See this useful article on the Spring.