Black Tiger Spring in snow [Photo/VCG]

The Year of the Tiger in the Chinese lunar calendar is just around the corner, and as a long-standing cultural symbol, the Chinese character 虎 or hu (meaning tiger) celebrates characteristics such as ambition, courage, power and happiness.

It's estimated that there are 66 places in Jinan that have the name 虎 – so let's see how many 虎 or hu you can find in the following sites:

Laohudong Mountain Tunnel

Located at the west section of the expressway on the South Second Ring Road in Jinan, the dual six-lane Laohudong Mountain Tunnel has a length of 1,275 meters.

West Heihuquan Road & Yinhuchi Street

The West Heihuquan Road extends west to east in the Lixia district in downtown Jinan city, west from South Baotuquan Road and North Baotuquan Road and east from the Jinan Jiefang Pavilion, a landmark building in the city.

Yinhuchi Street also located in downtown Jinan, extends south to north, south from Luoyuan Street, north from Gongqingtuan Road.

Black Tiger Spring

Dubbed the City of Springs, Jinan is home to 72 famous springs, including the Baotu Spring and the Black Tiger Spring, giving the city a distinct feel. Fifteen of them have the name 虎 or hu.

The Black Tiger Spring is considered to be the best-known spring among the 15.

The water laps the hills, with a sound like a tiger's growl, which is how it got its name. It's in a natural cave with a height of 2 meters, a depth of 3 meters and a width of 1.7 meters. The spring pool is made from stone, 17 meters wide and 3 meters deep.

There are three tiger head stone carvings on the southern wall. The water flow reaches up to 41,000 cubic meters per day, second only to Baotu Spring. There are 14 hot springs surrounding the Black Tiger Spring.

Laohu (Tiger) Mountain

Despite being named after the tiger, there are no physical tigers on the mountain. But Tiger Mountain, 422 meters above sea level, resembles the sign of courage – the tiger.