Mount Wuyi, lying in northern Fujian Province, is the best area for biodiversity conservation in Southeast China. Most of the hills here are made of red sandstone, very steep but flat on the top. The peaks and rocks of grotesque shapes are girded by clear streams and embraced by green trees and bamboo plants.
Mount Wuyi is also a refuge for a great many of historical and cultural relics. It had been an important center of China’s Taoism and was listed as one of the top nine Taoist Temples in the 10th century. The mountain also boasts many other cultural relics including stone inscriptions. In 1999, Mount Wuyi entered the list of World Cultural and Natural Heritage.
Mount Wuyi is one of the most outstanding subtropical forests in the world. It is the largest, most representative example of a largely intact forest encompassing the diversity of the Chinese Subtropical Forest and the South Chinese Rainforest, with high plant diversity. It acts as a refuge for a large number of ancient, relict plant species, many of them endemic to China and rare elsewhere in the country. It also has an outstanding faunal diversity, especially with respect to its reptile, amphibian and insect species.
Mount Wuyi was considered as a sacred mountain during the Han Dynasty (late 3rd century BC to early 3rd century AD). In the centuries that followed many holy men and scholars were attracted to it, and monasteries and academies were established in beautiful natural surroundings conducive to study and contemplation. To ensure that the beauty of the environment was not degraded, Tang Emperor Xuan Zong issued a decree in AD 748 forbidding fishing and the felling of trees, a sanction that survives to the present day.
Mount Wuyi was first a centre of Taoism, when many temples and study centres were established, but Buddhism also developed alongside, and by the 17th century had largely superseded Taoism. It was in the Song Dynasty that Zhu Xi evolved the doctrines of Neo-Confucianism, from his famous Wuyi Jingshe Academy, work on which began in 1183. The intellectual renown of Mount Wuyi has continued to attract scholars, sages, artists, and writers throughout subsequent ages.
Mount Wuyi was first a centre of Taoism, when many temples and study centres were established, but Buddhism also developed alongside, and by the 17th century had largely superseded Taoism. It was in the Song Dynasty that Zhu Xi evolved the doctrines of Neo-Confucianism, from his famous Wuyi Jingshe Academy, work on which began in 1183. The intellectual renown of Mount Wuyi has continued to attract scholars, sages, artists, and writers throughout subsequent ages.
The percentage of forest coverage of Mount Wuyi is as high as 92%, every peak is full of tall bamboos and thick forest, added with lots of streams and caves,making Mount Wuyi the top choice for summer resort. Especially before 9:00 am and after sunset,Mount Wuyi is extreme cool with fresh breeze blowing. In summer time, falling waterfalls and running springs are everywhere to see,making the Yellow Mountain a perfect summer resort. Moreover, the Yellow Mountain has long been famous for its beauty sea of clouds, which added the mystery to the mountain.When sunset reddened the clouds, the whole sky became a splendid palace.
