The splendid geological sight of the Shennongjia area is a
result of a very long evolution, during which the deposition in the
area experienced several tectonic movements.
After a violent folding, the area was either split or elevated,
forming the embryo of today's landform.
The Shennongjia area has six mountains surpassing 3,000 meters
above sea level, most of which are composed of the intrusive
diabase rocks.
The Shennongding Peak, 3,105.4 meters above sea level, is the
highest mountain in the Shennongjia area and is known as the "Roof
of Central China."
A large area of well-preserved virgin forests surrounds the
peak, making it a good habitat for many wild animals and plants,
such as golden haired monkeys, giant salamanders and spotted
deer.
Tourists to the mountains will find themselves surrounded by
blossoming flowers and thriving trees. They can experience and
enjoy the beauty of four different seasons at different altitudes
on their way to the top of the mountain.
Stone forests and caves
Soluble carbonate rocks are widely distributed on the top of many
mountains in the area. These rocks are easily eroded by water and
have formed splendid high-altitude Karst Landforms.
The Fengjingya (the Scenery Pass) is representative of the
landforms, with a group of straight and graceful stone pillars.
Picturesque scenery consisting of virgin forests, clear streams
and grand waterfalls in thousands of canyons makes tourists feel
completely relaxed and refreshed.
Peculiar caves, formed by erosion, also amaze visitors. The
Swallow Cave, inhabited by thousands of rare swallows, is one of
the famous caves in the area.
The cave is 2,340 meters above sea level and more than three
kilometers long. The cave's mouth is 14 meters tall and 16 meters
wide.
The cave is a treasure site for scientific research in geology,
archaeology and zoology.
The Shanbao Cave (the Treasure Cave) faces south under a cliff.
It is a typical Karst cave, abundant in various types of
stalactite, stalagmite and stone pillars.
The Icy Cave is located 38 kilometers southwest of Songbai Town.
The cave has an altitude of 2,400 meters above sea level.
In summer, the temperature in the cave is 10 to 20 degrees lower
than the outside temperature.
In winter, however, the temperature in the cave is higher than
outside. In addition, the water droplets never freeze.
Beautiful water scenery
Dajiu Lake, the largest lake in Shennongjia, is located 50
kilometres from the west of Shennongding Peak.
The lake is surrounded by mountains and has an area of 18 square
kilometers, with its bottom standing at 1,750 meters above sea
level.
The lake was formed about 40 million years ago, as a result of
glacier movement.
The torturous Heishui River (the Black Water River) is the
largest river flowing into the lake. Tourists can enjoy beautiful
water scenery by the river and the lake.
The Shennongjia area is rich in the relics of the Quaternary
glacier. The relics, mostly distributed around Shennongding Peak,
Jiuhuping and Muyuping, have great scientific research value.
The deep canyons in the Shennongjia area have many outlets of
underground water, which form various kinds of springs.
The Tide Spring erupts three times a day. Each eruption lasts 45
minutes and is accompanied by thundering sounds, with flow capacity
reaching one ton per second.
The Fragrant Spring has a flow capacity of two tons per hour,
forming a waterfall that is 10 meters wide and six meters high.
The waterfall forms a deep pool below, which is called Xianglong
Pool.
Fir tree and wild man
The famous "Thousand-year-old Fir Tree" stands like an iron tower
on the west side of the 209 National Highway.
The giant fir tree, with the Latin name of "Keteleeria
davidiana," is 980 years old.
With a diameter of 2.38 meters, the 36-metre-tall fir tree is
the tallest tree in the Shennongjia area.
This kind of fir tree is a living fossil peculiar to China,
which thrived in the Cretaceous Period.
The Wild Man is perhaps the most mysterious figure in
Shennongjia, as famous as Nessie and UFOs.
Its records appear many times in ancient Chinese books. Since
the 1970s, many people in Shennongjia have declared that they have
spotted the Wild Man.
According to their descriptions, the Wild Man is like an ape
about two meters tall, covered by red or brown hair and it can run
at an amazing speed.
Some scientists claim they have found evidence of the creature,
such as footprints and hairs. However, a Wild Man has yet to be
found.
Many people believe that the Wild Man is an ancient species like
the giant panda and the golden-haired monkey.
Profile
The Shennongjia area, located in the northwest of Central China's
Hubei Province, is a county-level administrative region directly
under the provincial government.
Shennongjia has an area of 3,253 square kilometers and a
population of 79,000.
Over 1,000 meters above sea level, the Shennongjia area belongs
to the eastern branch of the Dabashan Mountains that connect the
Tibetan Plateau in West China with the Yangtze plain in East
China.
In 1986 with the approval of the State Council, Shennongjia
became a "National Nature Reserve of Forests and Wild Animal
Species."
In 1990, UNESCO accepted it into the protection network of "Man
and Biosphere".
In 1992, the United Nations Development Program selected the
forest zone as a "Demonstration of Natural Reserves of
Bio-diversity."
Before the establishment of the national nature reserve in 1982,
logging destroyed some virgin forests in the region.
Today, forests are protected and, with 2,762 species of vascular
plants and the re-emergence of a golden monkey (Rhinopithecus
roxellana) population, Shennongjia is considered to be a Green Gene
Pool of China.
It shelters some of the world's rare and endangered plants and
animals, such as Chinese dove trees, South China tigers, white
bears and white snakes.
(China Daily November 24, 2006)
