The Black Tiger Spring is a culturally
significant artesian karst spring located in
the city of Jinan, Shandong Province,
China. The spring is ranked as the second most significant among
the 72 named springs in Jinan (after the Baotu Spring). The water
of spring stems from moderately-deep circulation and emerges from a water-filled limestone cave in a
steep cliff. From the mouth of the cave, the water is funneled to flow
out of the mouths of three ornamental stone-carved tiger heads into a
square-shaped spring pool. From there it runs into the old city moat,
next to which the spring is located. According to the tradition, there
was a black rock lying in front of the cave in ancient time. The name of the spring is
said to be derived from the shape and color of the rock, which
resembled a black tiger, and the sound of the water gushing past the
rock being reminiscent of the roar of a tiger. The ancient layout of
the spring is described in a poem by the Ming Dynasty poet, Yan
Bizeng.