Song Well

Song Well sits on the beach of Yun'ao Town on Nan'ao Island, Nan'ao County. According to legend, there are three wells in total: Dragon Well, Tiger Well and Horse Trough Well. The three wells differ in location, wellhead shape and the times they emerge from sand. The well has a circumference of 3.6 metres, walled with multiple layers of long stone slabs. Its water is sweet, refreshing and flows all year round.

Though the well stands on the beach merely more than ten metres from the sea and is frequently submerged by high tides, its water remains free of saltiness once the tide recedes. The pure, sweet water can be stored for a long time without going bad. This miracle is listed as one of the Eighteen Wonders of Chaoshan: "Well water stays fresh after being flooded by seawater".

(Attached pictures: 1_Copy.jpg, 2_Copy.jpg, 3_Copy.jpg, 4_Copy.jpg)

As its name suggests, Song Well was dug in the Song Dynasty. Back in the late Southern Song Dynasty (1276 AD), Mongol troops marched southward. After fleeing their capital Lin’an, the imperial court of Southern Song kept retreating further south. Zhao Shi was crowned Emperor in Fuzhou, then the court evacuated south by sea escorted by ministers Zhang Shijie, Lu Xiufu and other officials, and finally arrived at Nan'ao Island. The Crown Prince refers to Zhao Bing, the seven-year-old Prince of Guang, younger brother of Emperor Duanzong Zhao Shi, who ascended the throne after Zhao Shi’s death.

It is said that three wells were dug near Aoqian Village to supply drinking water for the imperial entourage: Dragon Well exclusively for the emperor, Tiger Well for ministers, and Horse Well for attendants and soldiers. Over centuries, all three wells were buried under tides and sand, only occasionally resurfacing unexpectedly.

The wells’ magic lies in the fact that even on the tide-prone beach, their water never turns salty after tidal flooding and retains its pure sweetness. Scientific research offers an explanation: the three wells were chiselled into mountain rocks directly above natural springs, which continuously dilute incoming seawater. Double layers of rock at the well bottoms block seawater seepage, securing fresh spring water. When seawater flows into the wells, its higher density makes it sink and drain through rock fissures, leaving the upper spring water light and unsalted.