Xuzhou Huan Cheng National Forest Park

Xuzhou Huan Cheng National Forest Park

Xuzhou Huan Cheng National Forest Park is a national-level forest park.

Xuzhou Huan Cheng National Forest Park covers a planned area of 20,000 mu, with Quanshan Forest Park being its main scenic area. Located in the southern part of the city, Quanshan Forest Park spans over 3,500 mu. Quanshan consists of five peaks, also known as the “Five Elders Peaks,” and is regarded as the foremost mountain of Pengcheng. The park boasts beautiful natural scenery and abundant flora and fauna resources, and is honored as a “natural oxygen bar.” It features characteristics described as “green, unique, elegant, serene, and wild.” In recent years, it has been designated as a provincial base for environmental education and science popularization.

The largest Bird Garden in China is located within the park; the “Guo Lao Cave” is associated with a beautiful local legend about the immortalization of the Taoist sage Zhang Guo Lao; the classical bamboo-style Longquan Bridge spans the East and West Longquan Lakes, complemented by the surrounding bamboo groves, creating a refreshing atmosphere. The park’s specialized botanical gardens include: Peony Garden, Peach Blossom Garden, Orchid Garden, Osmanthus Garden, Bamboo Garden, Metasequoia Grove, Lead Bamboo Grove, Taxodium Grove, Cedar Grove, and Wetland Cypress, among others. The rolling hills are dotted with sheep-shaped rocks, lying or crouching in remarkably lifelike poses, which were praised by Su Dongpo as “a hillside covered in scattered rocks that look like a flock of sheep”—a unique natural landscape. The Dragon Chant Pavilion, with its colorful eaves and classic red beams, exudes an ancient charm and offers distant views of Yunlong Mountain and Yunlong Lake.

Seventy-two hills encircle the city in a vast ring-like formation. The broad Third Ring Road is built along the mountains, linking the 72 hills into a continuous green “ring-city necklace.” Within the lush green hills lie numerous cultural relics from the Han Dynasty. The 1,300-hectare ring-city forest is closely connected to and supported by the 20,000-hectare man-made Platycladus orientalis forest, embracing the ancient city of Xuzhou. The park is home to 590 species of seed plants, including 28 species of gymnosperms and 562 species of angiosperms. The plant flora is predominantly temperate in distribution (38.13%), followed by tropical (33.46%), clearly reflecting the transitional nature of the region’s plant life. There are over 200 animal species, commonly including foxes, yellow weasels, Mongolian rabbits, badgers, and hedgehogs. Bird species include magpies, azure-winged magpies, woodpeckers, Eurasian siskins, willow warblers, turtle doves, crows, Eurasian jays, hoopoes, thrushes, larks, and mynas. Waterfowl include spoonbills, wild ducks, geese, and swans. The park seamlessly blends natural and cultural landscapes, featuring main attractions such as the scenery of Quanshan, the lake and mountain views of Yunlong Lake, and Han Dynasty stone reliefs.