Qimen Guniujiang

Qimen Guniujiang

Qimen Guniujiang is a national AAAA-level tourist attraction, a national water conservancy scenic area, and a national geopark.

The Guniujiang Scenic Area is located at the border of Qimen and Shitai counties, and is one of the three major high mountains in southern Anhui (Huangshan, Qingliang Peak, and Guniujiang). It is 22 kilometers from Shitai County town, with the main peak at an elevation of 1,727.6 meters and a total area of 6,700 hectares. Guniujiang is divided into five major scenic areas: the Main Peak Scenic Area, Lingshan Scenic Area, Shuanglong Valley Scenic Area, Longmen Scenic Area, and Guanyintang Scenic Area. The first four are all within Shitai County, while the Guanyintang Scenic Area is located in Qimen County.

The four major scenic areas of Guniujiang each have their own unique features: the Lingshan Scenic Area is the most ecological leisure resort, known as China’s first “carbon-neutral” holiday village; the Shuanglong Valley Scenic Area is the most interesting science education base, featuring a comprehensive biodiversity interpretation experience system; the Guniu Peak Scenic Area is the most classic outdoor sports base, where you can explore the mysterious and summit the ox-like peak; the Longmen Scenic Area, with its vast expanse of pristine mountain and water scenery, is considered the most primitive sightseeing destination.

Guniujiang is renowned for its majesty, strangeness, and peril. It is the western extension of the Huangshan Mountain Range and was historically called the “Western Huangshan,” with beautiful and magnificent mountain scenery. There are 36 major peaks, 72 minor peaks, 36 major ridges, and 72 minor ridges. Because its shape resembles a giant ox descending from the sky, it is named Guniujiang (literally "Descending Ox Mountain"). In 2014, the Guniujiang tourist site was awarded the title of “Anhui Famous Brand.”

According to the Jiangnan General Records, Huangshan has thirty-six ramparts, standing opposite the Huangshan in She County, with its highest peak, Guyagang, overlooking Mount Lu. This shows that Guniujiang was as famous as Huangshan in ancient times. Its highest peak, “Guniu Dagan” (Guniu Major Ridge), stands at 1,727.6 meters above sea level, resembling a giant ox standing upright against the sky. Together with the famous Huangshan (1,873 m) and Qingliang Peak (1,787 m), it forms the three highest peaks in southern Anhui. From west to east, they stand like three giants side by side in southern Anhui.

Guniujiang has ancient strata, a superior climate, high mountains, dense forests, and few human traces, preserving relatively intact natural forest vegetation. It is one of the important and typical regions of the central subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest zone in eastern China. The area boasts extremely rich tourism resources, diverse biological species, complex flora components, and harmonious ecological relationships. At the same time, the region features perilous peaks, deep valleys, peculiar pines, strange rocks, misty clouds, and waterfalls—its natural landscape is extraordinarily magnificent...

The landforms of Guniujiang have undergone tremendous changes over time. About 850 million years ago, during the Xuefeng Orogeny, its main body was uplifted, ending the history of marine transgression. Around 200 million years ago, during the Mesozoic Indosinian Movement, the northern part of Guniujiang was also uplifted and merged with the main body, accompanied by the intrusion of granodiorite. Later, through the Yanshan Movement and the Himalayan Movement, the immense power and ingenuity of nature sculpted Guniujiang into a majestic and beautiful mountain range with towering peaks, steep cliffs, and deep valleys, becoming another magnificent mountain in southern Anhui.

Due to the long history of land formation and complex topographic changes in the Guniujiang mountainous region, a large number of ancient plant and animal species from the Tertiary and early Quaternary periods—dating back about 70 million to 2 million years—can still be found here. Examples include tertiary relict tree species such as Chinese fir, yew, and cephalotaxus, with ginkgo being the famous “living fossil.” Guniujiang harbors a vast array of biological species. According to incomplete statistics, there are 230 families, 726 genera, and 1,348 species of plants here, including 13 nationally protected plant species and 29 animal species. Additionally, the area is rich in reptiles, with over 26 species of snakes alone, hence earning the nickname “Kingdom of Snakes.” Thanks to its complex natural conditions, abundant biological resources, and well-preserved ecosystem, Guniujiang has become the “Gene Bank of Flora and Fauna in East China” and is referred to by ecologists as a “Green Natural Museum.”

Guniujiang is not only a renowned comprehensive nature reserve in China but also a rare mountain-type tourist scenic area. Here, green mountains and clear waters coexist with ever-changing mist and clouds. Amidst rugged beauty lies gentleness, in graceful scenery dwells tranquility, and within fantasy is elegance. The ecological environment is exceptionally pristine, and the natural scenery combines grandeur, wonder, serenity, and beauty. Moreover, this place is blessed with remarkable people and a strong cultural heritage, along with a glorious revolutionary tradition. Here you can find relics of Wu Yingji, a leader of the Fuxue Society in the late Ming Dynasty, a literary figure, and patriotic poet; the ancient fishing stone of the Snow Mountain people; and slogan walls reflecting the historical tides of over half a century of China.

Guniujiang has a long historical and cultural background. It is the birthplace of Nuo Opera and Mulian Opera—the “ancestor of theater” and the “living fossil of theater”—as well as a popular site for Huizhou Opera and Huangmei Opera. The geological culture of Guniujiang is also an important aspect of its cultural heritage and plays an indispensable role in scientific research, science education, and tourism.

In May 1988, with the approval of the State Council, the Guniujiang Nature Reserve was established, becoming Anhui Province’s first national-level comprehensive nature reserve primarily focused on forest ecosystems, as well as the largest nature reserve in East China. The area features prominent geological characteristics, integrating granite landforms, neo-tectonic movement relics, and stratigraphic profiles from the Neoproterozoic Qingbai Formation Dengjia Group and Puling Group. The intact natural ecosystem resembles a natural geoscience museum. In March 2004, Guniujiang was listed as a National Geopark. In 2005, it was awarded the status of a National AAAA-level Tourist Attraction by the National Tourism Administration and designated as an “Anhui Provincial Youth Science and Technology Education Base” by the Anhui Association for Science and Technology and the Provincial Education Commission.

In addition to its natural beauty, Guniujiang is also a key destination for red tourism. During the New Democratic Revolution period, the Red Army set up an armory here. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, the Northern Expeditionary Force stayed here, sowing the seeds of revolution. Dozens of locals joined various anti-Japanese organizations, providing shelter and assistance to the resistance troops. Today, slogans from the Red Army era can still be seen on the walls of the old house belonging to villager Chen Manping, including: “Overthrow the Nationalist Bandits and Abolish the Baojia System,” signed “Red Army Propaganda”; and “The Red Army’s Northern Expeditionary Force Is Your Savior Through the Hard Times of the Year,” signed “Red Army Northern Expeditionary Force Propaganda.”

Back then, the valiant Chinese communists and outstanding leaders of our Party, including Fang Zhimin, led the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army's Northern Expeditionary Force into counties across southern Anhui. In Shitai, the force led by Fang Zhimin carried out revolutionary activities or battles in areas west to the eastern foothills of Guniujiang’s main peak, Xianyu Mountain, north to the southern border of Gaobao Mountain in Gongxi Township, and east and north to parts of Taiping and Qingyang counties. Today, visitors can vividly relive the smoke-filled history of those times, and more importantly, truly feel that Guniujiang is not only a natural high mountain but also an immortal monument in the history of China’s modern revolutionary struggle.

Additionally, Guniujiang is the birthplace of Xin’an Medicine and the origin of imperial physicians. Historically, it produced generations of renowned doctors, with a legacy passed down through the ages. Historical records confirm that during the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were 19 imperial physicians in Qimen County alone, with Wang Ji, the founder of Xin’an Medicine, being the most prominent. As a result, Qimen County is honored as the “No. 1 County of Imperial Physicians in China.” The professional standards, ideological qualities, and moral character of these physicians formed the culture of imperial medicine, which has had a profound impact on later generations.

According to a survey by the Anhui Guniujiang Comprehensive Survey Team, there are more than 1,300 plant species and over 1,000 animal species. Among them, 18 are nationally protected rare and endangered wild plants, and 25 are animals. Key protected wild plants include liriodendron, sweet gum, evergreen trumpet creeper, ginkgo, and single-flower orchid, while protected animals include clouded leopard, leopard, sika deer, Reeves’s pheasant, and black stork. It is hailed as the “Green Natural Museum” and the “Treasure House of Wildlife in East China.” The abundant flora and fauna and beautiful natural scenery of Guniujiang provide ideal conditions for developing eco-tourism.

The primeval forests of Guniujiang hold incredibly rich biological resources, including numerous nationally rare and endangered wild animals and plants. Scientists have dubbed it the “Species Gene Bank of East China,” and it is Anhui Province’s first national-level comprehensive nature reserve primarily focused on forest ecology. Referred to by ecologists as the “Green Natural Museum,” Guniujiang boasts the only well-preserved primeval forest in East China and is a national-level comprehensive nature reserve centered on forest ecosystems. It harbors a vast number of animal and plant species and vegetation communities, with over 2,000 types of wildlife. Guniujiang is not only rich in species but also stunningly scenic. Known historically as the “Western Huangshan,” it features peculiar pines, strange rocks, sea of clouds, pine waves, sunrise, sunset glow, and Buddha’s halo—all magical and mystical, leaving visitors in awe.