The
Wuyi Mountains are a mountain range located at the prefecture
NanpingNanping is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde City to the east, Sanming City to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to the north and west respectively...
, at the northern border of
Fujian' is a province on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
provinceA province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Roman provinces:The word is attested in English since c.1330, deriving from Old French province , which comes from the Latin word provincia, which referred to the sphere of activity which a...
with
Jiangxi province' is a southern province of the People's Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south....
,
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
. The mountains cover an area of 60 km². In 1999, Mount Wuyi entered
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
's list of
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
s, both natural and cultural. It is the most outstanding biodiversity conservation zone of Southeast China. Numerous types of tea are produced around Mount Wuyi; it is the origin of the
real Da Hong Pao teaDà Hóng Páo is a very important Wuyi Red tea. Legend has it that the mother of a Ming Dynasty emperor was cured of an illness by a certain tea, and that emperor sent great red robes to clothe the four bushes from which that tea originated...
and
Lapsang souchongLapsang souchong is a black tea originally from the Wuyi region of the Chinese province of Fujian. It is sometimes referred to as smoked tea...
, further described in
Wuyi teaBohea , a kind ofblack tea, or, in the 18th and early 19th centuries, teagenerally, as in Pope's line, "So past her time 'twixt reading...
.
The Wuyi Mountains are located between Wuyishan City, at
NanpingNanping is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde City to the east, Sanming City to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to the north and west respectively...
prefecture of
Fujian' is a province on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province and Wuyishan Town, at
ShangraoShangrao is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of China's Jiangxi province. Its most famous product is the Shangrao bus....
city of
Jiangxi' is a southern province of the People's Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south....
province.
The
Wuyi Mountains are a mountain range located at the prefecture
NanpingNanping is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde City to the east, Sanming City to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to the north and west respectively...
, at the northern border of
Fujian' is a province on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
provinceA province is a territorial unit, almost always an administrative division, within a country or state.-Roman provinces:The word is attested in English since c.1330, deriving from Old French province , which comes from the Latin word provincia, which referred to the sphere of activity which a...
with
Jiangxi province' is a southern province of the People's Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south....
,
ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
. The mountains cover an area of 60 km². In 1999, Mount Wuyi entered
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
's list of
World Heritage SiteA UNESCO World Heritage Site is a site that is on the list that is maintained by the international World Heritage Programme administered by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, composed of 21 state parties which are elected by their General Assembly for a four-year term.A World Heritage Site is a...
s, both natural and cultural. It is the most outstanding biodiversity conservation zone of Southeast China. Numerous types of tea are produced around Mount Wuyi; it is the origin of the
real Da Hong Pao teaDà Hóng Páo is a very important Wuyi Red tea. Legend has it that the mother of a Ming Dynasty emperor was cured of an illness by a certain tea, and that emperor sent great red robes to clothe the four bushes from which that tea originated...
and
Lapsang souchongLapsang souchong is a black tea originally from the Wuyi region of the Chinese province of Fujian. It is sometimes referred to as smoked tea...
, further described in
Wuyi teaBohea , a kind ofblack tea, or, in the 18th and early 19th centuries, teagenerally, as in Pope's line, "So past her time 'twixt reading...
.
Location
The Wuyi Mountains are located between Wuyishan City, at
NanpingNanping is a prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde City to the east, Sanming City to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to the north and west respectively...
prefecture of
Fujian' is a province on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
province and Wuyishan Town, at
ShangraoShangrao is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of China's Jiangxi province. Its most famous product is the Shangrao bus....
city of
Jiangxi' is a southern province of the People's Republic of China, spanning from the banks of the Yangtze River in the north into hillier areas in the south....
province. The geographical coordinates are 27
°A degree , usually denoted by ° , is a measurement of plane angle, representing 1⁄360 of a full rotation; one degree is equivalent to π/180 radians...
43
′A minute of arc or arcminute is a unit of angular measurement, equal to one sixtieth of one degree. Since one degree is defined as one three hundred sixtieth of a circle, 1 minute of arc is 1/21,600 of the amount of arc in a closed circle...
northern
latitudeLatitude, usually denoted by the Greek letter phi gives the location of a place on Earth north or south of the equator. Lines of Latitude are the imaginary horizontal lines shown running east-to-west on maps that run either north or south of the equator...
and 117° 41′ east of
GreenwichGreenwich is a district in south-east London, England, on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. It is best known for its maritime history and as giving its name to the Greenwich Meridian and Greenwich Mean Time.The town became the site of a Royal palace, the...
. The area is connected to the road network by provincial road number S303. The world heritage site has an area of 999.75 square kilometres within an additional buffer zone of 278.88 km².
Geology
The region is part of the Cathayshan fold system and has experienced high volcanic activity and the formation of large fault structures, which were subsequently subject to erosion by water and weathering. The landscape is characterized by winding river valleys flanked by columnar or dome-shaped cliffs as well as cave systems. Peaks in the western portion of the Wuyi Mountains typically consist of volcanic or plutonic rocks, whereas peaks and hills in the eastern area are made up of red
sandstoneSandstone is a sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized minerals or rock grains. Most sandstone is composed of quartz and/or feldspar because these are the most common minerals in the Earth's crust. Like sand, sandstone may be any color, but the most common colors are tan, brown, yellow,...
with very steep slopes but flat tops. The Nine-bend River (Jiuqu Xi), about 60 kilometers in length, meanders in a deep gorge among these hills. The highest peak in the area is Mount Huanggang at 2,158 meters, making it the highest point of
Fujian' is a province on the southeast coast of China. Fujian borders Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, and Guangdong to the south. Taiwan lies to the east, across the Taiwan Strait...
, the lowest altitudes are around 200 meters.
Climate
The Wuyi Mountains act as a protective barrier against the inflow of cold air from the northwest and retain warm moist air originating from the sea. As a result, the area has a humid climate (humidity 80 to 85%) with high rainfall (annual average 2,200 millimeters in the south-west and 3,200 millimeters in the north) and common fogs. Lower altitudes experience annual temperatures in the range from 12 to 18 °
CCelsius is a temperature scale that is named after the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius , who developed a similar temperature scale two years before his death...
.
The area is relatively
pollutionPollution is the introduction of contaminants into an environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms . Pollution can take the form of chemical substances, or energy, such as noise, heat, or light...
-free, the Chinese government set up its first air quality monitoring station in the area on January 31, 2005.
Biodiversity and environment
The Wuyi Mountains are the largest and most representative example of Chinese subtropical
forestA forest is an area with a high density of trees. There are many definitions of a forest, based on the various criteria. These plant communities presently cover approximately 9.4% of the Earth's surface in many different regions and function as habitats for organisms, hydrologic flow modulators,...
s and South Chinese
rainforestRainforests are forests characterized by high rainfall, with definitions setting minimum normal annual rainfall between 1750–2000 mm . The monsoon trough, alternately known as the intertropical convergence zone, plays a significant role in creating Earth's tropical rain forests.From 40 to 75%...
s' biodiversity. Its
ecologyEcology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the interactions between organisms and the interactions of these organisms with their environment....
has survived from before the
Ice AgeThe general term "ice age" or, more precisely, "glacial age" denotes a geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in an expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Within a long-term ice age, individual...
around 3 million years ago. Biologists have been conducting field research in the area since 1873.
The vegetation of the area depends strongly on altitude. It is divided into 11 broad categories: 1) temperate coniferous forest, 2) warm coniferous forest, 3) temperate broad-leaved and coniferous mixed forest, 4) deciduous and broad-leaved forest, 5) evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous mixed forest, 6) evergreen broad-leaved forest, 7) bamboo forest, 8) deciduous broad-leaved shrub forest, 9) evergreen broad-leaved shrub forest, 10) brush-wood, and 11) meadow steppe. Most common are evergreen broad-leaved forests, some of which make up the largest remaining tracts of humid sub-tropical forests in the world. Higher plants from 284 families, 1,107 genera and 2,888 species as well as 840 species of lower plant and fungus have been reported for the region. The most common tree families are Beech
FagaceaeThe family Fagaceae, or beech family, comprises about 900 species of both evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs, which are characterized by alternate simple leaves with pinnate venation, unisexual flowers in the form of catkins, and fruit in the form of cup-like nuts. Fagaceous leaves are often...
, Laurel (
LauraceaeThe Lauraceae or Laurel family comprises a group of flowering plants included in the order Laurales. The family contains about 55 genera and over 2000 species world-wide, mostly from warm or tropical regions, especially Southeast Asia and Brazil...
), Camellia (
TheaceaeThe Theaceae is a family of flowering plants, composed of shrubs and trees. The Theaceae is part of order Ericales, in the branch of the dicots known as the Asterids. Some botanists include the family Ternstroemiaceae within the Theaceae while others do not...
), Magnolia (
MagnoliaceaeThe Magnoliaceae, or Magnolia Family, is a flowering plant family in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two subfamilies:*Magnolioideae, of which Magnolia is the most well-known genus....
),
ElaeocarpaceaeElaeaocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family contains 605 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera.The species of Elaeocarpaceae are mostly tropical and subtropical, with a few temperate-zone species. Most species are evergreen...
, and Witchhazel
HamamelidaceaeThe Hamamelidaceae is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales, including 27 genera and about 80-90 species, all shrubs and small trees...
.
The fauna of the Wuyi Mountains is renowned for its high diversity, which includes many rare and unusual species. In total, approximately 5,000 animal species have been reported for the area. 475 of these species are
vertebrateVertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with backbones or spinal columns. About 58,000 species of vertebrates have been described. Vertebrata is the largest subphylum of chordates, and contains many familiar groups of large land animals. Vertebrates comprise cyclostomes, bony...
s and 4,635
insectInsects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s. The number of vertebrate species is divided as follows:
|
families |
species |
mammalMammals are a class of vertebrate animals whose females are characterized by the possession of mammary glands while both males and females are characterized by sweat glands, hair, three middle ear bones used in hearing, and a neocortex region in the brain.Mammals are divided into three main...
s |
23 |
71 |
birdBirds are winged, bipedal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay eggs. There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Birds range in size from the Bee Hummingbird to the ...
s |
47 |
256 |
| reptiles |
13 |
73 |
amphibianAmphibians , such as frogs, toads, salamanders, newts, and caecilians, are ectothermic animals that metamorphose from a juvenile water-breathing form, to an adult air-breathing form. Though amphibians typically have four limbs, the Caecilians are notable for being limbless. Unlike other land...
|
10 |
35 |
fishA fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
|
12 |
40 |
49 vertebrate species are
endemicEndemism is the ecological state of being unique to a particular geographic location, such as a specific island, habitat type, nation, or other defined zone. To be endemic to a place or area means that it is found only in that part of the world and nowhere else. For example, many species of lemur...
to China and 3 are endemic to the Wuyi Mountains. The latter are the bird David's
ParrotbillThe parrotbills are a group of peculiar birds native to East and Southeast Asia, though feral populations are known from elsewhere. They are generally small, long-tailed birds which inhabit reedbeds and similar habitat. They feed mainly on seeds, e.g. of grasses, to which their bill, as the name...
(
Paradoxornis davidianus), Pope’s Spiny Toad (
Vibrissaphora liui), and the Bamboo Snake
Pseudoxenodon karlschmidti (family
ColubridaeA colubrid is a snake that is a member of the family Colubridae. It is a broad classification of snakes that includes about two thirds of all snake species on earth...
). Other known endangered species in the area include: South Chinese Tiger (
Panthera tigris amoyensis),
Clouded LeopardThe Clouded Leopard is a medium-sized cat found in Southeast Asia. It has a tan or tawny coat, and is distinctively marked with large, irregularly-shaped, dark-edged ellipses which are said to be shaped like clouds. This unique appearance gave the mammal both its common and scientific species name...
(
Neofelis nebulosa),
LeopardThe leopard , Panthera pardus, is a member of the Felidae family and the smallest of the four "big cats" in the genus Panthera; the other three being the tiger, lion and jaguar...
(
Panthera pardus),
Hairy-fronted MuntjacThe Hairy-fronted Muntjac or Black Muntjac is found in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian in South China, also reported in northern Myanmar. Although extremely difficult to study because of its shyness, it is considered to be endangered, possibly down to as few as 5-10,000 individuals spread...
(
Muntiacus crinifrons), Mainland Serow (
Capricornis sumatraensis - a
goat antelopeA goat-antelope or caprid is any of the species of mostly medium-sized bovids that make up the subfamily Caprinae , part of the Bovidae family of ruminants...
),
Cabot's TragopanThe Cabot's Tragopan, Tragopan caboti is a pheasant found in south-east China. This large bird is divided into two subspecies, of which the nominate race is found in the provinces of Fujian, Jiangxi, Zheijiang, and Guangdong, and T. c. guangxiensis is confined to northeastern Guangxi and southern...
(
Tragopan caboti), Chinese Black-backed
PheasantPheasants is subfamily of Phasianidae in the order Galliformes.Pheasants are characterised by strong sexual dimorphism, males being highly ornate with bright colours and adornments such as wattles and long tails. Males are usually larger than females and have longer tails. Males play no part in...
(
Syrmaticus ellioti), Chinese
Giant SalamanderThe hellbender and Asian giant salamanders are aquatic amphibians found in brooks and ponds in the United States, China, and Japan. They are the largest living amphibians known today...
(
Andrias davidianus), and the Golden Kaiserihind (
Teinopalpus aureus - a
Swallowtail ButterflySwallowtail butterflies are large, colorful butterflies which form the family Papilionidae. There are at least 550 species, and though the majority are tropical, members of the family are found on all continents except Antarctica...
).
Human history
Human settlement on the slopes of Mount Wuyi can be traced back 4,000 years by archeological remains. During the Western Han Dynasty, the ancient city of Chengcun was the capital of the Minyue kingdom. In the 7th century, the Wuyi Palace was built for emperors to conduct sacrificial activities, a site that tourists can still visit today. The mountains were an important center of
TaoismDaoism refers to a variety of related philosophical and religious traditions and concepts that have influenced East Asia for over two millennia and the West for over two centuries. The word 道, Tao , means "path" or "way", although in Chinese folk religion and philosophy it has taken on more...
and later
BuddhismBuddhism, as traditionally conceived, is a path of salvation attained through insight into the ultimate nature of reality. It encompasses a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha...
. Remains of 35 academies erected from the era of the Northern Song to the
Qin DynastyThe Qin Dynasty was the ruling Chinese dynasty between 221 and 206 BC. The Qin state was named because the people of is homeland were called the qin. The Qin's strength had been consolidated by Lord Shang Yang during the Warring States Period, in the 4th century BC...
and more than 60 Taoist temples and monasteries have been located. However, most of these remains are very incomplete. Some of the exceptions for which authentic remains are preserved are the Taoyuan Temple, the Wannian Palace, the Sanqing Hall, the Tiancheng Temple, the Baiyun temple, and the Tianxin temple. The area is the cradle of
Neo-ConfucianismNeo-Confucianism / is a form of Confucianism that was primarily developed during the Song Dynasty, but which can be traced back to Han Yu and Li Ao in the Tang Dynasty. It formed the basis of Confucian orthodoxy in the Qing Dynasty of China. It was a philosophy that attempted to merge certain...
, a current that became very influential since the 11th century.
Tourism
The number of visitors to the area has increased from approximately 424,000 in 1993 to 700,000 in 1998. A raft trip down the Nine-bend River is the most popular activity followed by a visit to the "Thread of Sky" caves, where the narrowest walkway is only 30cm. Visitor access to the biodiversity protection area is controlled.
External links