On this trip, Kelin of KGL Creative Strategies Consultants
Ltd arranged our visit to the Emperor Spa and Nina, Taiwan’s most famous travel
blogger joined us.
Nestled in a deep ravine in Taipei Taiwan’s Beitou District
is a famous hot spring resort known as Huang Chi Resort. The hot springs has been used for more than
110 years, but has only been a local resort for a little more than 30
years. In 2003, the Resort was
purchased, upgraded and now attracts almost 3000 daily visitors during the peak
season (cooler seasons).
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| Parking Lot Direction to the Spa Entrance |
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| Parking Lot and sets leading to steam vents of the Hot Springs |
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| Various Buildings at the Spa |
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| From the Parking lot to the Main Entrance |
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| The Main Entrance |
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| Ahhh .... Everyone loves these Hot Spring Baths !!! |
I met two very special gentlemen at the spa, Mr. Tony Yu,
General Manager, and a retired scientist that was excited about telling me
scientific information about this hot spring, Dr. Chin-Wang Huang, Professor
Emeritus. Dr. Huang is 84 years old and
studied in both Taiwan and Japan where he received his PHD at Tokyo University.
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Dr. Chin-Wang Huang, Professor
Emeritus explaining to me the science of the Hot Springs
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Dr. Huang told me that at this resort, the water underground
reaches 98 degrees centigrade, most of the water above the ground is over 40
degrees Centigrade. But, it is cooled a
little to about 36 degrees centigrade for the customers comfort. He said the ph factor of the water is about
1.2 (very acidic)and the water contains radium, much higher than most other
radium hot springs in the world. Other
hot springs in the Beitou District of Taipei have a very small amount of
Radium. He also said that there is only
trace amounts of sulfur in these area springs.
The hot springs at the Emperor Spa has many healing and good health
qualities, and Dr, Huang pointed out that most people that use these spas on a
regular basis have great young looking skin.
Besides Radium, there are also the following minerals in
these waters: Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Iron, Lead, Sulfate, and
others.
Those radium hot springs in Japan have concentrations of
about 1.41 while here in the Emperor Spa it reaches 5 to 7. He also went on to explain that they have
found radium isotopes from Ra224 to Ra227 in the area which is somewhat
radioactive, but fairly stable.
That being said, they did bring us fresh, clean hot spring
water to taste. The water looked crystal
clear and was both salty and very acidic to the taste. Please see the photo.
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| The samples we drank and a list of minerals in the water |
The Emperor Spa has a quaint restaurant with excellent local
food. During our stay afternoon stay, we
enjoyed a nice variety of food including: Steamed spicy fish, Sashimi, Crab Rice Soup,
Salad, Hot Chinese Cabbage, Cherry Duck sliced thin, sliced beef, green onion
and special sauce rolled up in hand made pancakes, Szechuan Egg and sliced hot
peppers, and steamed dumplings.
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| First lets eat! |
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| Spicy Steamed Fish |
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| Delicious Cherry Duck |
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| A Great tasting salad |
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| Crab and rice soup |
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| Beef and Green Onion Rolls ... Very Tasty |
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| Szechuan Eggs and Peppers |
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| Dumplings |
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| Sweet Dumplings for Dessert |
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| Entrance to the Restaurant |
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| Menu |
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| Menu |
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| Menu |
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| Menu |
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| Spa Restaurant |
The Price list shows that for every $400NTD (approx.. $13
USD) you spend a at the restaurant, one
person may use the public pool free once.
After our private room spa, they
offered us refreshing homed made plum juice.
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| Portion of Spa Price List in English |
At this resort there are several buildings for spa and
relaxation. One building is designed for
children and recreation, there is a building for women only and men only where
the patrons are naked and enjoy various pools of warm to hot springs
water. Yet another building has private
rooms with a stone pool that you can fill up and adjust the temperature to your
preference. After a set time of relaxation
you can shower in fresh water prior to leaving the spa rooms.
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| Building 2 |
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| Serene water falls and fish pools near Restaurant |
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| Relaxation area |
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| Beautiful Mountain Side surrounding the Spa |
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| Spa Logo |
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| Spa Directions |
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| Private room |
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| Private Room Building |
In the outer parking lot, there are steps leading up to
several steam vents from these hot springs, and
a rocky stream with fast flowing water as it migrates from the hills
down to the valley. The steep mountains
around this resort are very rocky in places but most are covered in dense
trees, foliage and vegetation.
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| Stream cascading down the mountain along side the Spa |
For Good Health, Fine Skin, Longevity of Life, and
Relaxation, I would recommend that visitors to Taipei and the Beitou District
should stop and enjoy a few hours at the Emperor Spa.
For more information on the Spa, please contact Angela at the Emperor Spa. Here is how to reach Angela:
Phone: 02-2862-3688
website: www.emperorspa.com.tw
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