Mountain Wuyi rises at the northern section of the Wuyi Range in Mountain Wuyi City of Fujian Province, along the border of fujian and Jiangxi Provinces.
In November 1982, the mountain was designated as one of the first group of major state scenic resorts, and on December 1, 1999, included in the list of World Natural and Cultural Heritages by the World Heritage Council of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). It sprawls in an area of 999.75 square kilometers, including a central area of 635.75 square kilometers, is the largest land of world heritage China has so far applied to UNESCO. Heritage experts in the world set a high value on the mountain, saying that “Mountain Wuyi features a unique, excellent natural landscape. It belongs to a rare zone with natural beauty and represents a perfect harmony between mankind and natural environment”, “The mountain is in a major area for the preservation of various living things in the world and a habitat of rare species of living things on the verge of extinction”, “The mountain constitutes a prominent example of the interrelation between mankind and natural environment in the process of evolution of living things”, “The cultural remains of ancient Min and Minyue tribes in the mountain ae historical witnesses of the ancient civilization”, and “Mountain Wuyi is the Cradle of the idealist philosophy of Zhu Xi (post-Confucianism) and a base for worldwide study of the idealist philosophy of Zhu Xi and the oriental culture as well. ”
The 70-square-kilometer eastern section of Mountain Wuyi is the Mountain Wuyi Major State Scenic Resort, boasting of a typical danxia landform and a unique natural landscape. The crystal-clear Jiuqu (Nine-turn) Stream, the 36 green peaks that rise sky high and the 99 bizarre crags form a marvelous natural landscape. They are a fine example of the perfect blend of the waters and hills. The hills that all face east look like ten thousand galloping horses. Danxie and Zhuzhuang hills each have a solitary peak, and the scenery changes with each step. The peculiar landscape along the Jiuqu Stream, the best in Mountain Wuyi, changes endlessly and blazes with extraordinary splendor. The first turn is broad and open; the second turn features a deep and secluded valley and red cliffs; the third turn has hongqiao, a kind of plank path bulit along cliff faces for moving coffins up to the cliffs; the fourth turn boasts of enchanting peaks and water; the fifth turn is located in a secluded, dangerous terrain; the sixth turn is known for the beautiful Tianyou Peak; the seventh turn has the magnificent Sanyang Peak; the eighth turn is flanked by green hills and exotic rocks; and the ninth turn wids its way through a beautiful flatland. The nine turns negotiate with the terrain on their way to link up the scenery on both banks. Tourist to Mountain Wuyi may sail downstream on a bamboo raft to feast their eyes on the picturesque landscape in the mountain.
To the west extends the 565. 27-square kilometer Mountain Wuyi State Nature Reserve, a major area for the preservation of various living things in the world which Chinese and foreign biologists called a “Window on living things in the world”, “a world of insects”, “a paradise of birds”, and “a kingdom of snakes”. Mountain Huanggang towers 2, 158 meters above sea level, the highest mountain in the southeast of China's mainland. It is composed of more than 100 peaks rising one after another, each with an elevation of more than 1,000 meters.
In the middle of Mountain Wuyi is the 364-square-kilometer Jiuqu Stream Upper Reaches Ecological Reserve, the center of which is the Wuyi Great Gorge Ecological Park with an area of 185.8 square kilometers, the park, a treasured land for eco-tourism, consists of eight major scenic zones: the Honghe Valley, Mountain Baita, Lianhua Stream, Chaoyang Peak, Dongbeiyuan, Wuyi Great Gorge, Feicui Valley, and Mountain Shengzi scenic zones. What deserves mentioning is the 40-meter-wide Qinglong Waterfall at Tianzidi that cascades downhill from a height of 120 meters. It is known as the No. 1 Waterfall in East China. The Mountain Wuyi Great Gorge features a dense forest, clear and swift water, and dangerous shoals. It is a rare enjoyment to drift through the waves on the Great Groge.
Mountain Wuyi is also a timehonored cultural mountain. As early as the Neolithic Age, people of the ancient Yue tribe began to live and multiply there. The boat-shaped coffins and hongqiaoban (plank path) that still can be seen high up the cliffs testify to the unique burial customs of the ancient Yue tribe. The Imperial City of Minyue State during the Western Han Dynasty (206 B.C-A.D.24) stretches for 0.48 square kilometers. It is the best-preserved city of the vassal states during the Hua regime (206 B.C-A.D.220) in southern China and windows on ancient civilization of Fujian Province. Since the Qin(221-207 B.C) and Han dynasties, Mountain Wuyi has remained a center for Taoist and Buddhist preachers, who left behind them more than 100 sites of ancient temples. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907), Emperor Xuanzong conferred titles on famous mountains, including Mountain Wuyi. Toward the end of the Tang Dynasty and the beginning of the Five Dynasties (907-960), Du Guangting listed Mountain Wuyi as Shengzhenyuanhua Cave Paradise, the 16th of the 36 famous hills and scenic spots under heaven in Notes on the Fairyland. The mountain was a place where Confucian scholars gave lectures. In the Song Dynasty (96-1279), well-known idealist philosophers including Yang Shi, You Zuo, Li Dong, Hu Anguo, Hu Hong, Zhu Xi, Cai Yuanding, Cai Shen, Huang Wo, Zhen Dexiu, and You Jiuyan gathered around them disciples and gave lectures there. Mountain Wuyi is the cradle of Zhu Xi's idealist philosophy. Jiang Yan, Lu Dongbin, Li Shangyin, Fan Zhongyan, Li Gang, Lu You, Xin Qiji, Xu Xiake, and other men of letters and distinguished personages of the past dynasties left behind them over 1,000 of inscriptions poems on the mountain. What deserves praises is that Mountain Wuyi is the native place of Liu Yong, a ci poet of the graceful and restrained ci school. When he was a teen-ager, he composed quite a few ci poems there. Mountain Wuyi is also home to Wulong tea and red tea. The Wuyi tea culture with Dahongpao tea and ruins of an ancient kiln at Yulinting as representatives has unique Characteristics.
Today, the Mountain Wuyi area has a transportation system of railroads, air routes, and high-grade highways and a convenient modern communications network. The Mountain Wuyi State Holiday Resort features constantly-perfected facilities. There are more than 30 star-rated hotels, offering prompt services of food, shelter, transportation, sightseeing, shopping, and recreation. |
Asia Travel 
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