Baotu Spring in Jinan has been gushing continuously for 23 years, setting a record for the longest peak since its resumption.

China News Service, Jinan, September 6 (Reporter Sun Tingting) The groundwater level of Baotu Spring in Jinan was 29.59 meters on the 6th. Three springs gushed out. The poolside was crowded with tourists to see the "Baotu Soaring" style. Since its re-emergence on September 6, 2003, the thousand-year-old spring, known as "the best spring in the world", has been gushing continuously for 23 years.

What is different from the past is that in the past 12 months, Baotu Spring has rarely maintained a "worry-free water level" status. Since the water level jumped to 29.01 meters on September 7, 2025, the groundwater level of Baotu Spring has always been in the high range. Only on June 28, 2026, it fell below the 29-meter mark and dropped to 28.98 meters. However, the rainfall that night caused the water level to quickly rebound to 29.02 meters the next day. The duration of this high surge set a record for the longest period since the resurgence in 2003.

The water level is "calm", which is unusual for Baotu Spring. According to the laws of nature, the dry season of the spring is from October to June of the following year, and the water level shows a seasonal downward trend until it reaches the annual low before the flood season of the following year. Therefore, during the dry season, Baotu Spring often has a "sense of urgency" when it falls below the warning line.

29 meters is also the key "golden line" of Jinan spring water. When the water level "stands above" this line, the Crescent Spring, which has the highest water level requirements among the 72 springs, can gush out, presenting a "crescent waterfall" landscape and marking the full "jubilation" of Jinan's springs. "Crescent Waterfall", "Baotu Soaring into the Sky" and "Black Tiger Roaring at the Moon" are known as Jinan's three major dynamic water features. Nowadays, three landscapes are being staged simultaneously in Quancheng.

Jinan is known as the "City of Springs". Baotu Spring ranks first among the "72 Famous Springs" in Jinan. The water level of Baotu Spring is often regarded as a benchmark for the climate and hydrological environment in northern China. The Baotu Spring has been able to continuously gush for 23 years, thanks to the abundant rainfall in recent years, and it is also the result of Jinan's long-term spring preservation. The local government has implemented a series of "combination measures" such as strictly implementing bans and restrictions on groundwater extraction, promoting water source replacement, and carrying out ecological restoration of strong leakage zones to "escort" the continuous gush of spring water.

In recent years, Jinan has built a full-time, all-scenario cultural tourism experience system around spring water IP. Spring water-themed cultural creation, spring water tea tasting and other multiple business formats have been simultaneously developed, turning spring water from a natural landscape symbol into an urban cultural IP that can be perceived, participated in and consumed.