Ailan Spring

A natural spring on Ailan Plateau (愛蘭台地) in Tieshan Village (鐵山里), Puli, Nantou, long valued for the purity of its water. Also known as the Shaoxing Spring (紹興泉), it supplied Puli Winery with water for its Shaoxing wine (紹興酒) beginning in 1952, the spring’s mineral content and the basin’s cool climate being judged close to those of Shaoxing itself. The Japanese colonial era winery had earlier drawn on it to make sake. A pumping station and office stand over the source, closed to the public, while a small pavilion built into the hillside below channels the spring into pools where residents still wash laundry.