Rehai (Hot Sea)

This weekend my cofellows and I went to one of Tengchong's most famous attractions, Rehai, meaning hot sea, a geothermal field. It's a strange combination of Yellowstone and what I imagine the Roman Baths were. Having heard the name, I imagined a much larger area or body of water. There are a few interesting springs, but much of it has been altered by the development of the site as a tourist attraction. Much of the development was done nicely, but I wish it was clearer what is natural and what isn't. First, you walk along the river, past the more natural springs, and then you can bathe in the hot springs or even "take the waters".

Apparently accommodation here costs more than a five-star hotel in New York City. 

Steam mixing with clouds. It was hard to tell which was which.

Upstream of the hot springs.

"Hydrothermal explosion"

My cofellows and me.

In pictures and in life alike, it's hard to see through all the steam! Something in here is called "Lion Head".

I suspect this geyser-like thing was not natural.

This reminded me a little of Mammoth Hot Spring in Yellowstone, but it's smaller,
and as you can see from the pipe at the top, human-manipulated.

"Pearl Spring", so named because of the clear bubbles which were described in an ancient poem as shiny pearls.

Part of glasses spring, so named because there are two adjacent circular springs, like a pair of glasses.

"Big Boiling Pot Hot Spring". It's actually a combination of three springs which together release
0.9 liters of  hot water per second. All of the springs shown here have water of approximately 96 degrees Celsius.

They sell eggs in these nifty holders that
can be boiled in a hot spring.

The hot spring baths themselves were very pleasant. There were all sorts of different pools. Some with Chinese medicine. Some with alcohol. Some with tea (my favorite). Some sparklingly clear. It was a wonderfully relaxing day, but also tiring!