XIAN TEMPLE

Nearly 2,800 years ago, hot springs were discovered in a corner of ShanXi Province. The Western Zhou Dynasty (1000-771 B.C.) and succeeding dynasties constructed the famed Hua Qing Palace, Xian Temple and various bathing pools for the royal families. The Nine Dragons Pond shown here was originally the bath of Emperor Xuan Zong of the Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.). Then, as now, pavilions, halls, corridors and weeping willows added to the loveliness of the locale. "In this painting, I've to capture 'Xian Temple' and its reflecting pond on a winter's day, when flakes of snow melt gently into the hot spring waters."