Situatedat the northern foot of Mt. Lishan in Lintong County, 30 km (18.6mi) from Xi’anCity, Huaqing Hot Spring is famed for both its exquisite scenery and romanticstory of Emperor Xuanzong (685-762) and Yang Guifei, the legendary concubine towhom he gave his exclusive devotion.  It is said that King You built the palacehere during the Western Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC – 711 BC).  Additions weresubsequently made by the First Emperor Qing (259 BC–210BC) and then Emperor Wuduring the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC-24AD).  During his reign, the EmperorXuanzong spent dizzying amounts of his funds turning the existing site into aluxurious estate.  Over the course of 41 years, he visited the palace as many as36 times.  The palace has a history of 3,000 years and the hot springs a historyof 6,000.  This site has been given the status of a National Cultural RelicProtection Unit and a National Key Scenic Area.