Also known as Three-step Spring, the Gulian Spring is on the west side of the Hanyang Peak, the summit of Mt. Lushan in Jiangxi Province, and at the bottom of the Kangwang Valley, one of the three major valleys in Mt. Lushan. It is the main scenic spot of the Taohuayuan Scenic Resort in Mt, Lushan.
Mt. Lushan is formed with sand and stone and covered with dense vegetation. Water seeps through the vegetation, penetrates downwards through rock joint, passes the cracks in rock layer, and forms a green spring. It gushes out of the ravine and drops to the bottom of the valleys. The water quality is superb. The ancient people summed up eight merits of the Gulian Spring: pure, cool, fragrant, crystal-clear, gentlem sweetm clean, and smooth. However, it was Lu Yu, the Tea Saint in the Tang Dynasty (618 - 907), who put the Gulian Spring on the map. After his painstaking tour to find the best water for brewing tea, Lu Yu concluded that the water from the Gulian Spring in Kangwang Valley of Mt. Lushan was the No.1 Spring in the World. Later, a one-floor Waterfall Viewing Pavilion with four corners and four pillars was built on the precipitous cliff near the spring. It was the best place to view the Gulian Spring. To commemorate Lu Yu's high evaluation of the Gulian Spring, local people built a Hongjian Bridge (also Lu Yu Bridge) under the pavilion. At the entrance to the mountainous Kangwang Town, an archway with four pillars and three gateways was built. On it were five Chinese characters meaning No.1 Spring in the World. In the town, there were many inscriptions on the mountainside rocks. Zhu Xi, an idealist philosopher in the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 -1279), once served as local magistrate. He personally wrote the name of the Gulian Spring in official script on the cliff wall in front of the mountain gate.
