A dip in the hot springs 泡温泉

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Yunnan is blessed with lots of geothermal activity which is frequently harnessed as hot springs for recreation and bathing. Until you have lived here a while, it's difficult to grasp the role these glorious places play in day to day life.

 

 

Consider for a minute that most ordinary older homes here use solar hot water 太阳能热水 which goes AWOL if the weather is cold and rainy. And consider also the design priorities of ordinary older homes that allocate the bathing area to a shower head rigged in a couple square feet above the traditional squat toilet 凳子厕所。These factors don't make for a luxurious bathing experience; they don't make you want to linger and sing Puccini arias.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So every now and then, particularly when the weather is foul and you crave a good soak and a good scrub, you go to one of the hot spring bath houses 洗浴 where your extravagant needs can be met. I caved in last weekend; let me take you along since this is something that might not be in a textbook.

 

These places are scattered all over Kunming, with varying degrees of simplicity and luxury. I went to one that was middle of the road where I feel comfortable and pretty well know the program. The facilities and service are both up to snuff, without the tab being exorbitant. I typically go in mid-morning, have lunch and lounge around most of the afternoon. The price of admission actually provides you a full 24 hours, and some of my friends avail themselves of that benefit.

 

At the front desk you may be asked to show ID; seems to change from time to time. You surrender your shoes and are given sandals and a numbered wrist band. Upstairs into the men's changing area, where an attendant uses his key plus yours to open a big clothing locker. You deposit your belongings with the exception of your mobile phone and move into the bathing area. Women do something similar on their own side, in separate facilities.

 

An attendant shows you to a shower stall and adjusts the water. Some places have a sign on the wall telling how deep the water source is and its temperature down at the mouth of the spring. I've even occasionally seen itemized trace mineral composition. A selection of shampoos and body wash is provided. You scrub to your heart's content, not worrying in the least about wasting water. When thoroughly clean, you transfer to one of the nearby soaking pools.

 

 

 

The main pools are usually 40 degrees (Celsius) with smaller pools being a little cooler and a little hotter than that. A uniformed guy brings you a paper cup of cool or warm water to sip. You soak and stretch, watch TV, chat. (No scrubbing here; this pool is very clean.) After 15 or 20 minutes I take a plunge in a small ice pool to keep my core temperature in check. Then continue with serious stretching calisthenics, almost yoga-like, enjoying the chance to really limber up in the heat.

 

After a half hour or so, I exit and shower again, then go to get scrubbed. This is euphemistically called 擦背, but the attendant scrubs you all over with a coarse cloth while you lie on a plastic-topped table. Here, as in the rest of it, your modesty must be checked at the door. 

 

These guys have a number of tricks up their sleeves in addition to the basic body scrub, which costs 25 or 30 Yuan as a rule. Their favorite, for a few coins extra, is to scrub you with a combination of coarse salt and essential flower oil, Yunnan being home to tons of fresh flowers. This is referred to as 推盐推油。The whole process exfoliates dead skin and does deep moisturizing.

 

It ends with him laying a wet towel on your back, then slapping and pounding you to a drummer's complex rhythm, all up and down your posterior parts from your neck to your butt. Known as 敲敲背。Needs to be loud to be right.

 

Drawers pictured left are for your phone. Your wrist band has a key that locks and unlocks one of these small drawers.

 

Freshly slathered with oil and salt, pounded and tenderized like a veal cutlet, you are now sent on your way to one of the steam rooms to let the nutrients soak in fully. You sit on a bench in a cloud of steam and rub the salt and oil further into your pores, just using your hand. A barrel of water and a dipper are in there so you can occasionally swoosh some over your head.

 

 

When you are about as hot as lava inside and out, you exit and have a cool shower, omitting the soap so the goodies are not removed from your skin. If you crave more heat, then you can graduate to the dry sauna, which is equally extreme. I usually omit that and instead have a shave and brush my teeth. Disposable supplies are provided.

 

By now I'm relaxed, refreshed and really, really clean. Dry with small towels and stop by a special blow-dry room 吹干 to stand in front of large fans that blow warm air on you from head to toe. They are operated by a light-beam switch, turning on when needed, then shutting off. Proceed to a room where you are given disposable underpants and a shorty pajama-type uniform. These are family establishments, and it's usual to see kids enjoying the facilities along with their dads. This man is giving his young son a very early start.

 

 

By now it's noon, time for lunch. Line up chow-hall cafeteria style and serve yourself. Notice lots of the people are wearing bathrobes to keep warm, because the large dining room has sections which are outdoors under a glass balcony, making them a little cool. Large variety of food is provided, good quality, constantly refilled by an attentive staff of chefs and kitchen helpers.

 

 

I was there on a Saturday, and weekends are particularly busy. Found a spot at a table where a family squeezed over to let me in. The kids wanted to practice 5 or 6 words of English and pose for photos. Father afterwards apologized; saying they had never actually talked with a foreigner before. Pretty sure I was the only one in the house. Anonymity is not a reasonable expectation.

 

They saved my seat while I got seconds and the mother suggested I be sure to try the duck webs 鸭掌, since that was a specialty they only had on weekends. Her brother told me it was snowing in Dali. 

 

 

 

 

 

Well bathed and well fed, I now headed out for a lazy afternoon's rest. Passed one of several children's play areas, on my way to the resting hall 休息厅, which was filled with reclining chairs. You could sit and watch an individual TV with earphones, or you could lie down, cover with a quilt and snooze. 

 

 

 

Waiters and waitresses circulate, offering beverages and fruit. You can have a glass of freshly made premium Yunnan tea. Most places offer four or five kinds, including ripe 熟  and raw 生 Pu'er 普洱茶。I had a tall glass of their excellent red tea 红茶, which as you know, aids digestion 养胃。Read my book a few minutes, and drifted off into a light nap. 

 

There are tricks to selecting a resting hall, and I try to pick one which is non-smoking. Also, some are more "social" than others, with people chatting and playing cards. One can order a chair-side massage, the most popular selection being a foot massage. Lasts 45 minutes or an hour and includes neck, shoulders and back. Finish up lying face down with the therapist waking on you with bare feet. Costs 50 Yuan or so.

 

 

Some special resting halls have warmed marble floors, and you lie directly on them Korean style. And here's a very considerate one that I'll let you guess about. (Hint: the yellow sign says 打呼专区。）

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You can have your ears cleaned or indulge in an impressive array of TCM treatments, including scraping 刮痧 and cupping 拔火罐。Pedicures are also popular. Some of these treatments are done in private rooms on another floor. This is the zone where erotic massage used to be offered in the bad old days before Chairman Xi's never-ending morality crusade 严打。It's all plain vanilla now.

 

After a couple or three more hours of laziness, I decided to wander on home. Dressed, paid my tab, reclaimed my shoes. My six hours cost a little over 200 Yuan, including a back scrub and a foot massage. Now I don't care if it stays cold and nasty all week; my body and soul are revived and well fortified.

[Jim]

One of my favourite things here and such a long time since I've been to one. Even enjoyed some of the slightly shabby run-down ones I visited a many years back, expect they'll have been renovated by now. 

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Agree, @Jim -- I've never found anything even close back in Texas. These are one of several reasons I always look forward to coming back to China.

 

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Even enjoyed some of the slightly shabby run-down ones I visited a many years back, expect they'll have been renovated by now.

 

Me too, they don't even have to be spiffy. Some seem to eventually get renovated, while others close down. I'm not sure overall whether these places are flourishing or going the way of the dinosaur.  

[Jim]

Yes, was thinking the same about back in the UK, though there are the old spa towns and the newer beauty spas etc wasn't something I'd ever have done there, seemed part of another world. Much more part of everyday life here, for me at least.

[陳德聰]

It's been so long since I have been. This looks like quite a large facility and reminds me of the time I decided to get a foot soak and massage (I hate people touching my feet, so in hindsight I really shouldn't have wasted my money thinking it might be bearable for me).

 

Also, I am cracking up at "打呼專區".

[Shelley]

Excellent peep into ordinary life, about a subject as you say is probably not in any textbook.

 

Its now getting very cold here in the UK and the thought of a long soak in hot water done in your own time with all the extras sounds so inviting. I am sure it would ease my aching old bones well not so much,  but as the weather turns I do notice a few more aches and pains each year as the weather changes.

 

Thanks for all your efforts.

[gwr71]

it is nice to see the modern use of the oldest power source in the world.  I live in Nevis which is a volcano.  I mean the whole island is a volcano and it is located near Montserrat, which erupted in the 1990s.  here there is one of the oldest commercial hotel in the Caribbean with Spas.  It was opened over 200 years ago.  It is now a World Unesco Site in Nevis.  The 200 year old spa facility is now shabbily dilapidated and funds are needed to make it like what I see in those pictures.  I just wish some of those beautiful pictures were of the same kind of facilities in Nevis.   It is good to see China doing more for renewable energy.

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Interesting, I didn't know that about Nevis! Had pictured white sandy beaches.

 

8 hours ago, gwr71 said:

It is good to see China doing more for renewable energy.

 

Everyone I know here uses solar hot water. It's feasible since Kunming gets lots of sun. My old roof-top unit didn't work too well, but a couple years ago it broke and my landlord put in a new one. It now can heat water even on overcast days and keep it hot 10 or 12 hours.

 

The west part of Yunnan is more volcanic than Kunming, particularly the Baoshan 保山 and Tengchong 腾冲 areas. Visiting there was an eye opener as to how many ways one could harness natural steam and very hot water.

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On 11/27/2017 at 8:57 AM, Shelley said:

Its now getting very cold here in the UK and the thought of a long soak in hot water done in your own time with all the extras sounds so inviting.

 

It eases my old aching bones for sure and puts a spring in my step. Makes me feel like a Roman Senator.

 

What I like a lot is how it's part of the fabric of daily life here; not something that requires extraordinary effort, commitment or expense. Friend phones and says, "Think I'll go for a soak this evening, want to come along?" And it's then a done deal.

 

Since these places stay open all night, they often get businessmen who have been out on the town once their own party is over and they want to wind down. They rock up for a bath, have coffee or tea and a light midnight supper, then sleep over and go to work straight from the sauna in the morning after breakfast. One can either crash in one of the large resting halls, using a recliner, or rent a small, simple bedroom for very little money.

[gwr71]

I know that feeling. People come off cruise ships just to dip into the government hot springs at Bath Village, for only 15 minutes. Anymore and the person can die.  The old spa is still hot.  I tested it many years ago.  Here in Nevis, Geothermal  energy has been recommended by the US Congress.  I hope drilling will begin next year.  Maybe we can learn from the experiences of where you are.  please send more pics it is very lovely to see geothermal energy in action over there.