Baotu Spring

The Baotu Spring (pinyin: Bàotū Quán, sometimes translated as "Jet Spring" or "Spurting Spring") is a culturally significant artesian karst spring located in the city of Jinan, Shandong, China. It is mentioned in the Spring and Autumn Annals, one of the Five Classics of Chinese literature, and was declared the "Number One Spring under the Heaven" (pinyin: Tiānxià Dì-Yī Quán) by the Qianlong Emperor in the Qing dynasty. The Baotu Spring is the most renowned among the more than 70 named artesian springs in the downtown area of the city of Jinan. The water of all these springs originates from an Ordovician karst aquifer under the city. As the terrain around Jinan slopes from the south down to the north, the recharge area for the aquifer is located in the mountainous area to the south of the city. The recharge area of the springs covers 1,500 square kilometres, out of which 550 km2 provide direct recharge and 950 km2 indirect recharge. Altogether, the springs fed by the aquifer have a discharge of about 300,000-350,000 cubic metres per day. Since the 1970s, the springs have stopped flowing several times because too much water has been taken out from the aquifer for human consumption (more than 270, 000 m3 per day in the 1970s). The Baotu Spring is part of a cluster of about 20 named springs. Water age estimates suggest that its water originates from shallow cir

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