Hot Spring Wellness: The Emerging "Golden Industry" Along the 42nd Parallel North
Nestled amid the cedar forests and mist of Liaoning’s mountains, dotted across Hokkaido’s crisscrossing volcanic belts, or tucked in the bustling heart of Rome where ancient architecture exudes ease and luxury… From east to west, Japan’s Hokkaido, China’s Liaoning, and Italy’s Rome are scattered with diverse hot springs. The 42nd Parallel North, like a resplendent ribbon, strings together these sparkling hot spring pearls.
From well-equipped hot spring resorts to personalized wellness centers, this magical latitude has become a new landmark for health-conscious living, thanks to its abundant geothermal resources. Amid the steaming waters, cultural traditions from different regions converge, and businesses worldwide collaborate closely, binding the globe more tightly through the hot spring wellness industry.
The World’s Love for Hot Spring Bathing
During the Spring Festival, Baodi Hot Spring Town in Fuxin City, Liaoning Province, entered its peak season. In 2024, the town hosted approximately 100,000 tourists, leveraging its unique hot spring attractions.
Liaoning is a pearl on the 42nd Parallel North’s "Golden Hot Spring Belt." Its hot springs are rich in metasilicic acid and trace elements such as fluorine, strontium, and bromine, with over 85% boasting therapeutic properties. Boasting a 2,000-year history of hot spring bathing, Liaoning has nurtured a profound wellness heritage.
Though lacking volcanoes, Liaoning abounds in geothermal resources, with high-quality hot springs renowned across the region from east to west. Benxi’s hot springs, mostly set against mountains and rivers, offer visitors a blend of bathing, skiing, and Manchu cultural experiences. Tanggangzi Hot Spring in Anshan, famous for its wellness treatments like mineral mud packs and massages, stands as a nationally acclaimed rehabilitation center.
If Liaoning’s hot springs charm with their distinctive character, Japan’s hot springs captivate with their natural beauty.
In the works of Nobel laureate Yasunari Kawabata, Japan’s hot springs glow warmly amid the snowscape of Snow Country, softening the distant mountains and twilight mist; in The Izu Dancer, they linger in the white steam, reflecting the innocence of a young girl and kindling touching romances.
Shaped by frequent tectonic activity, Japan’s hot springs are a product of nature’s artistry. Near the 42nd Parallel North in Hokkaido, the Nasu and Kuril volcanic belts intersect, boasting over 30 active volcanoes and abundant hot spring resources. Hokkaido is home to more than 240 hot springs with 2,203 sources, ranking fourth in Japan after Oita, Kagoshima, and Shizuoka Prefectures, with a total discharge of 195,015 liters per minute—testament to its extraordinary geothermal wealth.
Over 90% of Hokkaido’s cities, towns, and villages host hot springs. Beyond bathing, these geothermal waters support heating, snow melting, agriculture, and aquaculture. In recent years, they have also powered geothermal energy generation as a renewable resource.
Wolf, a German tourist obsessed with hot springs, divides his time between Germany, China, Japan, and other countries. Discussing global hot spring characteristics, he remarks, “China’s hot springs stand out for their excellent water quality and comprehensive facilities, ideal for wellness and long-term stays. Japan’s hot springs, by contrast, are perfect for vacations, letting you soak in the mountains and breathe with nature. Both share a rich and enduring hot spring culture”.
Records in the Haicheng County Chronicle indicate Tanggangzi Hot Spring in Anshan was discovered during the Tang Dynasty (618–907). From the Ming and Qing dynasties onward, bathhouses were built there, drawing a steady stream of visitors. Folk wisdom held that “bathing cures illnesses,” and legends tell of emperors, generals, and scholars who visited, leaving behind countless anecdotes.
Ancient records preserved at Raijin Shrine, Hokkaido’s oldest shrine, note that in 1205, gold miners arrived in Chisato Town, a legendary gold-producing area. They accidentally discovered hot springs in 1247. Katsuhito Kawaguchi, Executive Director of the Hokkaido Hot Spring Association, explains that Hokkaido’s commercial hot springs date back to the Edo period, gradually spreading across the region.
Across millennia, the hot springs along this “Golden Latitude” are now experiencing a renaissance.
The “China·Liaoning Hot Spring Resort Index,” compiled by the Xinhua Index Research Institute, shows the 2024 index reached 138.80 points with a 6.78% compound annual growth rate. Rooted in history and culture, Liaoning’s hot springs are evolving into a mature industry.
Geothermal Resources Fuel the Wellness Industry’s Growth
“I must visit Niseko in Hokkaido again in 2025,” says Chen Luoxin, a 32-year-old skiing enthusiast, describing his New Year’s wish: skiing the powder snow on Mount Annupuri in the morning and unwinding in a hot spring in the evening.
Hailed as a “powder snow paradise” and “hot spring wonderland,” Niseko is a mecca for skiers and hot spring lovers worldwide. Designated a “National Recreation Hot Spring Area” in 1958, it has long been a top destination.
However, in the early 2000s, Niseko had a permanent population of only around 5,000. Like many small and medium-sized Japanese municipalities, it struggled with inadequate facilities, limited visitor capacity, and constrained development under a government-run tourism association.
A turning point came in 2003 when residents and the local government each invested 10 million yen to establish the “Niseko Resort Tourism Association Co., Ltd.,” a profit-driven entity focused on attracting international visitors. Niseko first targeted nearby regions, hosting business meetings with local airlines and travel agencies to promote its offerings.
Similarly, Liaoning’s hot spring wellness industry took off in the early 2000s. Leveraging its abundant resources, cities like Shenyang, Anshan, Dandong, Yingkou, and Liaoyang developed numerous hot spring towns. Government authorities prioritized hot spring tourism, aiming to establish Liaoning as a leading hot spring destination.
In Benxi Manchu Autonomous County, rich in hot springs, winter has become a peak season, shifting from site-specific tourism to comprehensive regional travel. Chi Shaoguang, an official from Benxi County’s Culture and Tourism Bureau, reports that in 2024, visitor numbers to the county’s hot spring resorts surged nearly 70% year-on-year.
Today, Liaoning’s hot spring wellness sector thrives with distinct regional identities. Fuxin’s Baodi Hot Spring Town focuses on residential wellness, offering fully equipped hot spring hotels, wellness apartments, stadiums, and traditional Chinese medicine hospitals. Anshan’s Tanggangzi Hot Spring blends culture and folklore, featuring hotels, themed commercial streets, a hot spring museum, and cultural and creative products like hot spring soap—delivering an immersive experience.
Chen Yankui, Secretary-General of the Liaoning Ice-Snow and Hot Spring Tourism Association, notes that the province’s hot spring wellness industry has taken shape and is moving toward branding and industrialization. By the end of 2024, Liaoning was home to over 1,200 hot spring tourism enterprises, nearly 200 projects with investments exceeding 50 million yuan, 13 provincial-level hot spring resorts, and 26 hot spring towns.
Global Hot Spring Industry Heats Up
As demand for hot spring tourism grows more personalized, destinations worldwide are adopting the “Hot Spring +” model to create new formats, products, and experiences, driving the industry’s popularity.
This winter, amid a surge in northeast China’s ice-snow tourism, Liaoning combined hot springs and ice-snow resources to launch a new “Public Ice-Snow + Universal Hot Springs + Folk Experience” package, integrating new formats and products to attract visitors. Initiatives include immersive experiences like hot springs in cornfields and glacial pools; joint marketing with half-price combo tickets for ski resorts and hot spring hotels, plus round-trip transportation; and “Hot Spring + Sports Events,” inviting visitors through athletic competitions.
In Shenyang, Qinghe Peninsula Hot Spring Resort—a one-stop destination for bathing, leisure, and dining—has added glacial hot spring pools, an Instagram-famous rose ice wall, and a Northeast Memory Experience Hall to its existing offerings, providing diverse immersive hot spring experiences.
While China excels at crafting consumption scenarios, Japan leverages its geography to package resources and expand service formats. On major Japanese travel platforms, Hokkaido stands out as a comprehensive destination, integrating hot springs with ski resorts, natural attractions, local specialties, and cultural experiences. Winter skiers and hot spring enthusiasts mutually boost visitor numbers, creating a synergistic effect.
For example, Noboribetsu Hot Spring neighbors natural wonders like Jigokudani (“Hell Valley”); Toya Lake Hot Spring combines lake views with summer fireworks displays and winter snowscape hot spring experiences. This diversified development model extends peak seasons and caters to diverse visitor needs.
Katsuhito Kawaguchi of the Hokkaido Hot Spring Association observes that while Hokkaido’s hot springs once drew primarily elderly visitors, health-conscious young travelers now dominate. Tokachi River Hot Spring, known as a “Skin Beauty Hot Spring,” is particularly popular among women. In response, resorts have introduced treatments like mineral mud therapy and mineral baths to expand options.
As the global hot spring industry flourishes, cooperation has deepened. In recent years, Chinese investors have injected capital into hotels in Japan’s top hot spring destinations such as Atami, Hakone, and Kawaguchiko. Wang Xiaoyu, a distinguished expert at the World Tourism Cities Federation, notes this trend not only revitalizes Japan’s tourism sector but also offers valuable insights and cases for Sino-Japanese hot spring industry development and cultural exchange.
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