Suining Nanmu Forest

Suining Nanmu Forest

The Nanmu Forest is located at the southern end of the Huangsong Nature Reserve, adjacent to Mujiao Township in Tongdao County, within the jurisdiction of Pingxi Village. The starting point of the Longdi Drift is also in Pingxi.

Hiking up the small stream, you step into the pristine deep forest where ancient trees tower overhead, their gnarled roots intertwine, and old vines crisscross. The forest floor is blanketed with fallen branches and leaves as soft as a carpet, crunching loudly underfoot. Looking up, you’ll see an ancient and towering nanmu forest stretching over two thousand acres, densely packed like incense sticks in a Buddhist temple. Yet each tree stands straight and weathered, proudly rising above the rugged mountains, allowing you to witness the unyielding nature of these trees. Some are over thirty meters tall with trunks five meters in girth, while others are just a few meters high with trunks as thin as fingers. Some grow on cliffs, others by the stream, with very few other tree species mixed in—creating a canopy so dense that sunlight barely penetrates. In the valley below, a large stream flows through, above which lies a stone trough five meters wide, thirty meters high, and several hundred meters long. The walls of the trough are as steep and smooth as if carved by a knife. Forty meters down along the trough, there is a waterfall called “Big Dragon Pool Waterfall,” and another forty meters further down is “Small Dragon Pool Waterfall.” The water cascades into the pools with a spectacular splash. Lush greenery and flowers bloom all year round around the area. Visitors are captivated by the scenery and linger, enchanted by its profound beauty.

Legend has it that on Laolongtan Mountain to the right of the fir forest lived an old dragon, while on the Nanmu Forest Mountain lived a tiger. The dragon and the tiger frequently battled, month after month, year after year, with neither ever emerging victorious. One year, the old dragon sent his two sons to the Nanmu Forest to fight the vicious tiger. Their battle shook the earth and darkened the skies. On the ninety-ninth day of fighting, the tiger grew hungry and paused to hunt for food. The Big Dragon and the Little Dragon were also exhausted and rested in the water. That night, the tiger found a 300-jin (approximately 150 kg) fat pig at a nearby villager’s home. Dragging the pig away, the tiger fled while the villager chased after him with a nanmu club. When the tiger reached the stone trough and tried to rest, the Big Dragon and Little Dragon stirred their tails, causing the mountain to split apart with a loud boom, dividing it into two and forming the long stone trough. As the villager caught up, the tiger, still dragging the pig, leaped but failed to clear the trough and fell to its death at the bottom. The villager arrived, capturing both the tiger and the pig, cheering, “The tiger jumped—but couldn’t make it!” Ever since, the place has been known as “Tiger Jump,” a name that remains to this day. The victorious Big Dragon and Little Dragon returned home and were richly rewarded by the old dragon. The stream that runs through the Nanmu Forest was declared their territory. Upon receiving their reward, the Big Dragon settled above the upper waterfall, and the Little Dragon below the lower waterfall. These two locations became known as Big Dragon Pool and Small Dragon Pool. The lushness of the Nanmu Forest is said to be due to the year-round protection of the Big Dragon and Little Dragon.