First national parks in China
Wuyi Mountain National Park, Fujian province
Updated: Dec 13, 2021
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Wuyi Mountain National Park, Fujian province
武夷山国家公园（福建、江西）
Wuyi Mountain National Park experimental area is the only park in China listed as a UNESCO cultural and natural heritage site. It is a reflection of China's environmental protection principle, which emphasizes coexistence and sustainable development between humans and nature. Covering about 1,280 square kilometers, the park preserves the world's largest subtropical primordial forest ecological system in one latitude zone.
The various landforms of Mount Wuyi are the results of geological structure, runoff erosion, weathering denudation, and gravity collapse. Located in a subtropical area, Mount Wuyi boasts a mild and humid climate in all four seasons and a forest coverage rate of 87.86 percent.
Situated in the subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest zone, Wuyi Mountain National Park is home to diverse natural environments and a variety of vegetation. It has 2,799 species of higher plants in 269 families, 238 species of algae in 73 families, 503 species of fungus in 38 families, and 100 species of lichen in 13 families. Its complex landforms and diverse ecological environments also provide an ideal place for wildlife.
Known as “the kingdom of snakes”, “the world of insects”, “the heaven for birds”, and “the key to the study of Asian amphibians and reptiles”, Wuyi Mountain National Park has 558 kinds of wild vertebrates, 33.27 percent of the types in Fujian province. In addition, its 6,849 kinds of insects account for 20 percent of all insect species in China.
Since the Neolithic Period, the ancient Yue tribe has lived on this famous historical and cultural mountain. The wisdom of ancient people and the activities of scholars have left many cultural relics on both sides of the Jiuqu Stream. They include 18-thousand-year-old immortal hanging coffins, 35 academies of classical learning, more than 450 cliff carvings, and over 60 temples.
As a well-known mountain important to Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism, Mount Wuyi is home to many palaces, Taoist temples, monasteries, and nunneries. It was also once a place for scholars to teach and publicize Confucianism.
