Shengrenwo Nature Reserve

Shengrenwo Nature Reserve

Shengrenwo is located in the southeastern part of Xuzhuang Town, Tongshan District, bordering the Lüliang area of Yizhuang Town. The main peaks in the southeast hilly mountainous region include Fengguan Mountain, Dahei Mountain, Dazhai Mountain, Dashan, Di Mountain, and over 60 others. Legend has it that during the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius once stayed in this village, hence the name Shengrenwo, which means "Sage’s Nest." After leaving Shengrenwo, Confucius led his disciples to Lüliang to give lectures, leaving behind many legends and historical sites. Most of these sites were destroyed in wars and during the Cultural Revolution, but on Fengguan Mountain today, you can still find the restored Confucius Tao-Watching Pavilion, the Confucius Book-Drying Terrace, a genuine stele inscribed with the Ming Dynasty calligrapher Wen Zhengming’s work “Evidence of the Excavation of the Lüliang Flood,” the “Yue Fei Poem Stele,” and the Huaihai Campaign Martyrs’ Cemetery.

To the south of Shengrenwo Village and east of Bailou Village in Lüliang, there are several large mountains that are the famous birthplace of Lüliang Stone in China. The "Floating Stone by Sishui" recorded in the ancient text Yu Gong refers to this place. Currently, Lüliang Stone has entered the international market and has become a treasured item among rock collectors. Within the nature reserve, the area surrounding Fengguan Mountain is covered with lush pines and cypresses, featuring well-preserved vegetation and ecology. The forest is home to many precious tree species, various medicinal herbs, and numerous rare animals. Plants include the nationally protected second-class species such as Eucommia, walnut, and tulip tree; third-class protected species such as wingceltis and wild soybean; as well as various trees like beech, padauk, pagoda tree, pearleaf crabapple, Chinese toon, and chinaberry. Birds include little bittern, Indian cuckoo, grey-capped pygmy woodpecker, Lady Amherst’s pheasant, and collared owlet. Animals include badgers, foxes, hedgehogs, weasels, and brown hares.

The nature reserve also houses the provincial-level state-owned Zhaotuan Forest Farm. The farm mainly consists of low hills and is spread across 50,000 mu of forested land, with main tree species including oriental arborvitae, along with a small portion of black locust and some economic forests such as walnut and chestnut. Its forest coverage rate is 89.5%. At present, the 50,000 mu of oriental arborvitae in the farm has been designated as ecological forest by the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Forestry. There are several large reservoirs in the area, among which the Cuihezhuang Reservoir covers an area of 10,000 mu, with a water storage capacity of 35 million cubic meters during the high-water season and an annual production of about 300,000 kilograms of fish and shrimp. The 21-square-kilometer area around the reservoir has been designated as a soil and water conservation protection zone by the Provincial Department of Water Resources.