Description
Sanqing Mountain lies in the northeast of Jiangxi Province, with Yujingfei as its highest peak (altitude 1 816.9m). Sanqingshan has an area of 22 950 hm2, among which core tone covers 7 690 hm2, natural reserve zone 15 260 hm2. Besides, buffer zone surrounding it covers 14 000 hm2.
Sanqing Mountain is located at the conjunction between the Yangtze Plate and the Huaxia plate, north to it is the Jiangxi Northeast suture cincture deep fault. Ever since the Indochina movement, Sanqing has entered continent margin violent changes and Pro-Pacific Ocean structure development stage. At late Yanshan movement period, a large scale of acid magma intrude activities took place under the integrative effect of three faults in Northeast-East, North-Northeast and North-West. Sanqing were uplifted during (at) late Himalayan period. The sediment of Carbonate which deposited during the Carnbrian and Ordovician even late C, P and early Triassic was eroded more easily than the harder granite. The granite rocks were exposed as a result the granite mountains further developed their characteristic shape through erosion and dissection. Sanqing continues to be uplifted till now.
Unique geologic structure and suitable geographic environment makes Sanqing Mountain famous with its granite hill forest physiognomy. And it is a natural museum for the evolvement process of granite hill forest which is composed of with ridges and peak, apex wall, apex woods, apex pillar and stone sprout, etc. The various shapes of hills also have high aesthetic and tourism development value.
Sanqing Mountain is the product of geological history of the Earth and biological evolvement, which includes all types of China"s Mid-and Sub-tropical zone vegetation and they are in stale condition. With the increase of altitude, there are 6 vegetation cinctures by sequence, namely: indeciduous latifoliate forest, indeciduous-defoliation latifoliate forest, taiga-latifoliate forest, warm taiga,
mountainous region moss-short crooked wood, alp meadow. Besides, there are clumps and sheets of Mid-and Sub-tropical zone Protorozoic indeciduous latifoliate forest, crag-living vegetation communities and various kinds of fern. Sanqing Mountain is a typical transitional area of torrid to variable zone geographical vegetation composition, also a transitional area between Mid-east sea and ancient-north in zoological division, specially, for the large areas of East-China yellow firry wood and crag-living monkey-face-shape azalea short crooked wood it preserves that are rare in the world. Sanqing Mountain belongs to Pan-arctic pole vegetation zone, Sino-Japan forest vegetation sub-zone, Central China plant Geographical province. In Sanqing Mountain, there are 2072 kinds of
senior plant, 500 kinds of vertebrate, 1327 kinds of hexapod. Among which there are 23 genera of plants that only grow in China, including 266 kinds; Besides, then grows a local genus Qianshan bramble which is only available in this area. Within the area there are 51 species of vertebrate and butterflies, and 33 species of wild plant under state protection, such as Pseudotsuga gaussenii, Tsuga
tchekiangensis, Taxus mairei, Pseudotaxlrs chienii, Emmenopterys henryi, etc. Also there are species of wild animal under the protection, such as Mutiacus crinifrons, Neofelis nebuloas, Panthera padus, Macaca thibetana, Syrmaticus ellioti, Tragopan caboti, Mergus squamatus, Andrias duvidianus, Teinopalpus aureus, etc.
Monkey-face-shape azalea is a genus only available in Central China botanical geographical province. A large area of crag-living monkey-face-shape azalea short crooked wood ecosystem has developed in Sanqing"s granite hill forest physiognomy environment. This system is critical for the preservation of granite hill forest physiognomy and aesthetical value. It has deep biological influence on the evolvement of granite hill forest. East-Chinayellow firry is a genus only available in East-China, in Sanqing Mountain them is a large scale protistan East-Chinayellow firry forestry ecosystem, it forms inlay landscape with indeciduous latifoliate forest, thus becoming an important ecosystem type to study the interaction between the development, growth and evolvement of subtropical pine forestry ecosystem and granite hill forest physiognomy. The complete forestry ecosystem and unique biodiversity makes Sanqing a critical area in subtropical biodiversity protection.
Sanqing Mountain also preserves lots of old architecture and Taoism relics, including 230 relics including palace, temple, hall terrace, lane, pagoda, bridge, pool, well, tomb, tablet, pass, stone statue, stone carving, site, etc. These make it become natural-and-culture scenery with Chinese traditional culture, natural beauty and a large biodiversity.
Therefore, Sanqing Mountain has high geographic, aesthetics and culture value, combining fantastic natural scenery, especially the forest of granite hills scenery, and Taoism culture with thousand years of history.