公母塘

Gongmutang

Useful Information

Location:	Fengshan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, China (24.545361, 107.066364)
Open:	no restrictions. [2025]
Fee:	free. [2025]
Classification:	Karst Spring
Light:	n/a
Dimension:
Guided tours:	self guided
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	yes
Bibliography:
Address:	Gongmutang, Fengshan County, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Tel: +86-.
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History

Description

公母塘 (Gongmutang, Male and Female Pond) is a set of two karst springs close together. It seems to be a Chinese necessity to find poetic and cryptic names for anything, and so the fact that there were two springs, which actually often have different coloured water, caused this name. It’s a male and a female spring in the sense of a Ying and Yang symbol. It also has a second name which is 鸳鸯泉 (Yuānyāng quán, Mandarin Duck Spring), a name which is a little more obvious. However, again yuan stands for male and yang for female mandarin ducks. Such a pair of mandarin ducks is a symbol for fidelity. The scenic spot, which is a small park around the springs and a car park is also called Yuanyangquan. It is located 2 km east of Fengcheng city, Guangxi. The rivers from the two springs meet only a few meters from the springs, form Jiuqu River, a tributary of Guanyin River which flows through nearby Fengcheng city. They meet right in the middle of the city.

The springs are karst springs, as the whole area is karstified. The different colours make clear that the spring have different structure and the water originates from different water bodies. In other words there are either two cave passages, which bring the water from different directions, or one is probably a cave resurgence, and the other originates from an aquifer in a porous rock layer. The left spring is 28 m in diameter and is called the 公塘 (Gongtang, male pool), while the right is 27 m long and 23 m wide, and is called the 母塘 (Mutang, female pool). The male pool is obviously the bigger one, and the water is slightly turbid. The female pool has clear water, as a result the ground and the fish can be seen very well.

It seems people were so impressed by the different colours, which is actually quite unique, that this site was famous since ancient times. Luo Yunjin, a famous scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, once visited this spring and left a poem. According to local lore, it was discovered by Xu Xiake, a famous geographer who travelled in China in ancient times. But there is also recent fame, it was featured by major Chinese TV shows.