Ruisui Hot Spring Villa
“Why does the hot spring water look murky and smell like iron?” Many tourists ask this question when they come to the Ruisui Hot Springs. In fact, the smell and water color comes from the alkaline carbonate spring water which contains rich iron. The temperature is around 48°C year round. Due to the oxidation process, the iron particles in the water turn yellowish in color with a salty and rusty smell. Even though the water looks murky, your skin will be smooth and without a sticky feeling after bathing in the spring water. As a result, the hot spring is also nicknamed “Golden Hot Springs.”
Ruisui Hot Springs, whose source is at the downstream of Red Leaf Stream, is also called the exterior hot spring in contrast to the inner Red Leaf Hot Spring. Both of the hot springs were selected in the “Eight Views of Hualien” in early times. In 1919, the Japanese built the Police Officers' Hot Spring Club, which was complete with a public bathing house called Ruisui Hot Spring Villa. Comfortably nestled among the mountains, the nearly one-hundred-year-old villa evokes intense nostalgia with its beautiful wooden structure, doors and hallways. A great mountainous view will be all you want.