Camel Spring
Camel Spring Brief Introduction
The Camel Spring is located close to the Jiezi Village Mosque, 4 kilometers west of Jishi Township in Xunhua Autonomous County. Even though it is not a large spring, it is considered to be the holiest place of the Salar people. It is said to be the original home of the Salar people. This spring has a close relation to the history of the Salar people based on folk legend. The ancestors of the Salar people originally lived in a small tribe found in the Central Asian region of Samarkand, with two brothers as the leaders. Their names were Galarmang and Akherman, and they were held in high esteem among the people. Later on, because of local leaders’ jealousy, they were forced to leave their homeland and be wanderers. They took 18 of their tribesman, along with a white camel that carried their homeland’s water and earth, and a copy of the Koran to seek for a new promised land in the east. Along the way they passed over the Tianshan Mountains, Jiayuguan, and the Yellow River, arriving at the foot of JiShi Mountain. Unfortunately, their white camel went missing, but the next day they found a very clean spring along a sandy slope, next to which their white camel had turned to stone. So they stayed in this place and named it Camel Spring. The Camel Spring has always been considered a holy spring to the Salar people and holds an important place in Salar culture. In the past few years local people have constructed an enclosed garden to protect the Camel Spring, in which they have planted many pine and fruit trees and flowers. They have established three large monuments with stone camel scriptures enscribed on them as well as building a pavilion in the garden. The Camel Spring attraction covers 3500 square meters and is in the shape of a long rectangle. In the center there is a pool that is 40 meters long and 20 meters wide. The spring water comes out from the center of this pool. The depth of the pool is 0.6 meters, and is enclosed by cement block.