Liancheng Meihua Mountain

Liancheng Meihua Mountain

The Liancheng Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve spans 20 kilometers from east to west, 19 kilometers from north to south, covering a total area of 225.7 square kilometers with a forest coverage rate of 89%. It is a world-class A nature reserve and is categorized as a national forest and wildlife conservation area.

Meihua Mountain enjoys a pleasant climate and remains lush all year round. Due to its unique geology, landforms, vegetation, climate, and other geographical factors, it boasts a diverse range of multi-layered and multi-typed natural tourism resources.

The mountain features overlapping peaks, with an average elevation of 900 meters within the reserve and over 300 peaks exceeding 1,000 meters. It is the source of the Min River, Jiulong River, and Ting River, earning it the title "Mother Mountain of Eight Fujians." Surveys indicate there are 172 families, 676 genera, and 1,490 species (including 30 subspecies) of vascular plants. Among them, over 40 are rare, precious, or endangered tree species, such as Cunninghamia lanceolata, Tsoongiodendron odorum, Eurycorymbus cavaleriei, Amentotaxus argotaenia, Nothotsuga longibracteata, Morinda officinalis, and Cinnamomum micranthum. Preliminary surveys also show 62 species of mammals, 166 species of birds, 69 species of reptiles, and 29 species of amphibians in the area. Of these, 42 species are under national key protection, including the South China tiger, clouded leopard, leopard, and black bear. The abundant flora and fauna of Meihua Mountain form a "natural gene bank," making it an ideal base for research on taxonomy, forest ecology, and plant communities. It attracts many biologists, geographers, and overseas explorers. The pristine forests here are dense and lush, filled with air rich in negative oxygen ions—making it a perfect spot for "forest bathing." As a globally emerging travel activity, forest bathing allows visitors to immerse themselves in nature’s green embrace, breathe fresh air rich in negative ions, boost metabolism, cultivate their mood, and achieve both physical exercise and therapeutic benefits.

The area features abrupt peaks and unique natural landscapes, including the several-kilometer-long Huanglianyu Cliff, Meihou Pool Waterfall, Carp Fort Waterfall, Meihua Lake, and naturally sculpted rock formations such as Eagle Rock, Grain Barn Rock, and Turtle Laying Eggs. There are also cultural sites like Matou Mountain Temple, Tomb of the Southern Barbarian King, and Liling Buyun Academy.

A folk song from western Fujian goes: “Meihua has eighteen caves, each cave has eighteen fields, each field stretches eighteen li, each li has eighteen hollows, and each hollow holds eighteen golden chairs.” The “golden chairs” refer to underground mineral resources. Currently discovered and mined minerals include iron, manganese, lead, zinc, tungsten, coal, magnetite, and quartz crystals.

Meihua Mountain Tiger Park

The China Tiger Park is located at the junction of Shanghang, Liancheng, and Longyan counties (cities) in Fujian Province. Covering over 220 square kilometers within Meihua Mountain, most of the area consists of pristine forests with over 30 vegetation types. Among them, 19 rare plant species are listed in China’s first Red Data Book. The forest is home to 26 nationally protected rare animals, including the South China tiger and leopard. In 1985, it was designated as a national class-A nature reserve. Compared to the dry and hot "tropical desert belts" found elsewhere on Earth, it is a rare "gene bank of flora and fauna resources" and is praised by experts worldwide as the "green jade on the tropical desert belt."

To save the critically endangered South China tiger, in September 1998, Longyan City in Fujian introduced three tigers (two males and one female) from Suzhou Zoo to begin a wild training program, launching China’s first "Meihua Mountain South China Tiger Conservation Project." Early this year, the city invested heavily to establish the 7,000-acre China Longyan Meihua Mountain Tiger Park in Chapan Cave deep within the mountain. Three more tigers (two females and one male) were brought in from Guilin Bear and Tiger Mountain Villa in Guangxi to expand the genetic pool and prevent inbreeding. Today, in the lush ancient forests and rugged cliffs of Meihua Mountain Tiger Park, the long-lost roars of South China tigers and the cheerful calls of nationally protected animals like macaques and sika deer delight wildlife conservation experts and visitors alike.

The Meihua Mountain South China Tiger Rescue Project is carried out in three phases with a total investment of about 120 million yuan. By 2010, the number of South China tigers in Meihua Mountain Tiger Park—bred artificially, semi-wild, and wild-trained—is expected to reach 100. At that time, Meihua Mountain is projected to become a South China tiger nature reserve with internationally advanced standards.

Basic Information About Meihua Mountain

The Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve was established in April 1985 with approval from the Fujian Provincial People’s Government and was listed as a national forest and wildlife type nature reserve in May 1988 with State Council approval. Located at the junction of Xinluo, Shanghang, and Liancheng counties (districts) in Longyan City, Fujian Province, the reserve covers a total area of 22,168.5 hectares. It is a renowned natural forest area in Fujian, situated in the main body of the Daihai Mountain between the southern section of the Wuyi Mountain Range and the Boping Ridge, commonly known as "Meihua Mountain Eighteen Caves."

A Pristine Land for Future Generations

The Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve lies on the southern edge of the mid-subtropical zone, featuring a climate that transitions from mid- to south-subtropical. It is the source of Fujian’s three major river systems—the Min River, Ting River, and Jiulong River—and is called the "Mother Mountain of Eight Fujians." Due to its unique geographical location and climatic environment, it not only creates a mild winter and cool summer climate for the Longyan urban center—known as the "natural air conditioner" of western Fujian—but also boasts the region’s richest biodiversity. It harbors an extremely abundant variety of wildlife and plant resources, including many rare species and new species, earning praise from domestic and international ecologists as the "green jade on the northern tropical desert belt," a "wildlife sanctuary," and a "gene bank of biological species." In particular, after investigations and evaluations by experts from China and abroad, the South China tiger—China’s unique tiger species and the world’s most endangered, ranked first among the world’s ten most threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN)—still thrives and reproduces here. Experts have confirmed it as the "area with the highest number and most active South China tigers," calling it the "hometown of the South China tiger" and its "most ideal habitat."

Due to Meihua Mountain’s relatively isolated location and minimal historical human interference, much of its forest remains in a pristine state. It is one of the few ecologically well-preserved areas in Fujian and the region with the highest concentration of natural forests in western Fujian. It enjoys a high reputation both nationally and internationally. In 1992, at the "Seminar on Priority Areas for China’s Nature Reserves" jointly held by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and China’s Ministry of Forestry in Beijing, Meihua Mountain was listed as one of the world-class A nature reserves of international significance due to its intact ecological preservation and rich biodiversity. In September 1994, the Chinese government published the "China Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan," listing the Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve in both the "China Priority Protected Ecosystem List" and the "Priority Protected Forest Ecosystem List." Since its establishment, the reserve has hosted over ten batches of foreign experts for inspection. After visiting, they highly commended Meihua Mountain’s ecological environment, calling it an "outstanding model of nature conservation" and a "pristine land for future generations."

Green Jade on the Tropical Desert Belt

The Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve is located between 116°45′25″–116°57′33″ east longitude and 25°15′14″–25°35′44″ north latitude. Most other regions at the same latitude on Earth are desert zones, but Meihua Mountain remains lush and endless in green. As the core area of a large, independent fault block in southwestern Fujian, it resembles a green pearl inlaid on the Tropic of Cancer, earning praise from experts and scholars as the "green jade on the tropical desert belt."

The reserve forms the main part of Fujian’s Daihai Mountain. Its landforms are mainly mid-level mountains, with high terrain in the center surrounded by lower areas, higher in the west and lower in the east. The average elevation is 900 meters, with over 70 peaks exceeding 1,000 meters. The highest peak, Shimen Mountain, rises to 1,811 meters, with a relative height difference of 1,436 meters. Geologically, it is part of the Yongmei Depression Zone, having undergone multiple tectonic movements. The Yanshan Movement caused large-scale granite intrusions, and the development of fault structures fragmented the terrain. With crisscrossing valleys, significant undulations, and deeply cut river gorges, the area features many steep cliffs and precipices. Most soils are sandy, highly weathered, and vulnerable to irreversible damage if vegetation is destroyed.

Additionally, the Meihua Mountain Nature Reserve boasts extremely rich forest landscapes with ancient plant species, many endemic to China. It has the province’s largest area of large-diameter fir forests, as well as Meihua Mountain evergreen oak forests, yew forests, and cryptomeria forests. Ancient trees and rare plants are scattered throughout. The natural landscape is unique, featuring numerous geomorphological and hydrological wonders, making it an ideal destination for eco-tourism. The reserve has a total standing timber volume of about 1.8 million cubic meters, with a forest coverage rate of 93.5% and a greening level of 97.6%.

Gene Bank of Biological Resources

The geographical location, forest ecology, and natural environment of Meihua Mountain are relatively independent. Its vast forest resources serve as an umbrella and refuge for various organisms. The area is rich in unique and rare flora and fauna, forming a natural gene bank and an ideal base for biological research. Plants: The flora of the Meihua Mountain Reserve has a complex composition, with vegetation characteristics transitioning from the southern edge of the mid-subtropical zone to the south-subtropical zone. It forms typical subtropical forest vegetation, including 11 vegetation types and 63 plant formations such as subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, coniferous forests, mixed coniferous-broadleaf-bamboo forests, bamboo forests, subtropical mountain shrubs, and grasslands. The reserve hosts 1,628 species of vascular plants across 734 genera and 184 families, including 23 species under national key protection such as Tsoongiodendron odorum, Fujian cypress, Bretschneidera sinensis, and Eurycorymbus cavaleriei, as well as over 60 rare plant species. Animals: The reserve lies in the mid-northern part of the Indo-China subregion of the Oriental realm, with transitional characteristics toward the Palaearctic realm’s mid-Asia region. It is home to a rich diversity of wildlife. There are 362 species of terrestrial wild animals, including 66 mammal species from 20 families across 6 orders, 198 bird species from 40 families across 17 orders, 69 reptile species from 40 genera across 10 families in 3 orders, 29 amphibian species from 29 genera across 10 families in 2 orders, 65 fish species from 51 genera across 14 families in 5 orders, 27 mollusk species from 27 genera across 15 families in 4 orders, 170 plankton species from 32 families across 30 orders in 9 orders, and over 2,000 insect species from over 150 families across 200 orders, plus 116 species of macrofungi. Among them, 42 rare animal species—including the South China tiger, leopard, clouded leopard, golden cat, sambar deer, and sika deer—and rare insects such as the Golden Birdwing and Janssens’ Green Weevil are under national key protection.

Hometown of the South China Tiger

In 1990, China and the World Wildlife Fund conducted a survey on South China tiger resources across Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan, and Jiangxi provinces. Breakthrough findings in Meihua Mountain provided conclusive evidence that the South China tiger still lives and breeds there, drawing recognition and attention from experts worldwide. World Wildlife Fund experts called Meihua Mountain the "area with the highest number and most active South China tigers." It is also considered the most ideal habitat for the species.

The South China tiger is a unique tiger species of China and a symbol of nobility, bravery, and strength for the Chinese nation. However, due to historical reasons, its habitat has been destroyed and its living space shrinking, pushing it to the brink of extinction. Statistics show that the total number of South China tigers in China (both wild and in zoos) does not exceed 100—making it even rarer and more precious than the giant panda. The South China tiger rescue project is one of China’s three major wildlife rescue initiatives (alongside the giant panda and crested ibis). Currently, China has prioritized this project. With a strong tradition of revolution and heightened awareness of wildlife protection, the revolutionary old base of western Fujian took the lead in launching the initiative. In 1998, a South China Tiger Breeding Research Center was established, and now the China Longyan Meihua Mountain Tiger Park is under construction to protect the region’s typical ecological environment and the world’s most endangered species.

Western Fujian’s Natural “Air Conditioner”

Meihua Mountain is an important ecological source in western Fujian. With its dense forests and good ground cover, it serves as a crucial water conservation area for the region. Calculations show it retains approximately 209.333 million cubic meters of precipitation annually, releases 43,000 tons of oxygen, captures over 500,000 tons of dust, and reduces surface erosion by more than 5 million cubic meters. For these reasons, Meihua Mountain can be regarded as a massive air purifier and fresh air factory for western Fujian.

Due to its high elevation and unique geographical location, Meihua Mountain forms a typical subtropical humid mountain climate. Being close to the ocean, it is often influenced by warm, moist southeast airflow. Additionally, the Wuyi Mountain Range and Boping Ridge to the northwest and southeast act as natural barriers, blocking cold air masses and retaining warm, moist air. This results in the Longyan urban center enjoying warm winters and cool summers with stable temperature and humidity. Meihua Mountain not only plays an irreplaceable role in regulating the climate of the Longyan urban center but also significantly impacts the climate of surrounding areas. The mountain’s barrier effect against cold air makes valleys to its southeast (Yanshi Valley, Yongding River Valley) and south (Huangtan River Valley, Ting River Valley) the warmest areas in all of western Fujian.

The intact mountain ecosystem, complex and diverse habitats, distinct vertical landscapes, and rich, complex flora and fauna of the Meihua Mountain Reserve offer significant ecological, social, and economic benefits. It serves as an ideal base for scientific research and teaching, a classroom for educating the public on natural science and conservation, and a safeguard for promoting the dual civilizations of the revolutionary old base in western Fujian. Therefore, we must strive harder to protect and cherish it, ensuring benefits for humanity and future generations.