The Zhiben Hot Spring () is a

hot spring A hot spring, hydrothermal spring, or geothermal spring is a Spring (hydrology), spring produced by the emergence of Geothermal activity, geothermally heated groundwater onto the surface of the Earth. The groundwater is heated either by shallow ...

in Beinan,

Taitung County Taitung () is the third largest county in Taiwan, located primarily on the island's southeastern coast and also including Green Island, Orchid Island and Lesser Orchid Island. The seat is located in Taitung City. Name While its name means "East ...

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia. The main geography of Taiwan, island of Taiwan, also known as ''Formosa'', lies between the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocea ...

. It is one of the most famous

Taiwanese hot springs Taiwan is part of the collision zone between the Yangtze Plate and Philippine Sea Plate. Eastern and southern Taiwan are the northern end of the Philippine Mobile Belt. Located next to an oceanic trench and volcanic system in a tectonic collisi ...

History

The

Puyuma people The Puyuma (), also known as the Pinuyumayan, Peinan or Beinan, are one of the indigenous groups of the Taiwanese aborigines. The people are generally divided into the Chihpen and Nanwang groups, both resident in Taitung County on the east coast ...

, which inhabited in the area, learned that the Zhiben Hot Spring was healthy to the

human body The human body is the entire structure of a Human, human being. It is composed of many different types of Cell (biology), cells that together create Tissue (biology), tissues and subsequently Organ (biology), organs and then Organ system, org ...

. During the Japanese rule era, the

government A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a State (polity), state. In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive (government), execu ...

set up

public bath Public baths originated when most people in population centers did not have access to private bathing facilities. Though termed "public", they have often been restricted according to gender, religious affiliation, personal membership, and other cr ...

s using water from the hot spring. On 8 August 2009 Zhiben was one of many places in Taiwan to be badly hit by Typhoon Morakot (2009) and made international news headlines when an eyewitness filmed the collapse of a riverside hotel undermined by flood waters. However, Zhiben's infrastructure was very rapidly restoredBy October 15th 2009 there was already a Hot Springs Cuisine Festival held here
/ref> and as of autumn 2009 the main spas are once more operational and easy to reach from

Taitung City Taitung City () is a county-administered city and the county seat of Taitung County, Taiwan. It lies on the southeast coast of Taiwan facing the Pacific Ocean. Taitung City is the most populous subdivision of Taitung County and it is one of the ...

References

Hot springs of Taitung County {{Taiwan-geo-stub