Hop spring in Beijing (九華山莊/小湯山/北京)

Hop spring in Beijing (九華山莊/小湯山/北京)
Originally uploaded by taigerwan.

Hot spring is always fun. Yesterday, Squash, Oliver, Henry and I went to Jiouhua Shan Zhuang (九華山莊) again, because we enjoyed the time spent there in March with Jupiter and Neptune. However, this time is not as exciting as last time, partly because this is our second time visiting so that no novelty exists any more, and partly because the atmosphere of spending time in hot spring in the afternoon can not compare with that at night, making us feel kind of mysterious and romantic.

The hot spring in Xiaotanshan (小湯山) contain sulfur, and it is beneficial for health, preventing skin diseases occurring. Salt rubbing is the most interesting part for this trip. I had to take off the swimming pant and lie on a bed first. A man put a small amount of water and plenty of salt to my entire body and then began to rub. According to the man, this massage can kill bacteria attaching on human body. Surprisingly, I did not get any strong feelings during the whole treatment. On the contrast, Squash was too sensitive to complete the process. He asked to rub himself, a funny thing to say and to do.

Under the recommendation from Squash, we had a dinner in a Japanese restaurant called "ISSHIN" in Wudaokou (五道口), where is famous for many Korean living in the neighborhood and ,therefore, is called "small Korea in Beijing". Many foreigners ate in ISSHIN. The food was delicate and palatable, and of course expensive.