Bawangling

Bawangling

Bawangling is a national-level forest park and a national nature reserve.

Bawangling boasts rich and well-preserved tropical forest tourism resources with great development potential. Its most attractive and picturesque features exhibit three key characteristics: typicality, uniqueness, and diversity, making it highly promising to become a leading brand for tropical rainforest sightseeing in China.

Bawangling is located in the southwest of Hainan Island, covering an area of 1.73 million mu and situated along the Changhua River. It is 26 kilometers away from Changjiang County. The area is abundant in flora and fauna, hosting 2,213 species of wild vascular plants from 967 genera and 220 families, as well as 365 species of terrestrial vertebrate wildlife from 85 families and 28 orders. Among them, there are 2 species of national first-class protected plants, 19 species of national second-class protected plants, 6 species of national first-class protected animals (accounting for 86% of the province’s total), 46 species of national second-class protected animals, over 130 species of birds, and 110 species of orchids.

Bawangling is part of the tropical low-mountain region, mainly composed of granite and limestone geological formations. The elevation ranges from 75 to 1,655 meters, with an average annual temperature of 23.6°C and annual precipitation between 1,500 and 1,700 millimeters. The area features continuous mountain ranges, interlacing peaks, complex terrain, and abundant water resources.

The vegetation in Bawangling Forest Park primarily consists of low-mountain rainforest, valley rainforest, and montane rainforest. Valley rainforests appear as small patchy areas within valleys at elevations of 400–800 meters, with main representative species including Homalium hainanense, Garcinia oblongifolia, Podocarpus imbricatus, and Cephalotaxus mannii. Low-mountain rainforests are found below 600 meters in elevation, with key species such as Vatica astrotricha, Hopea hainanensis, wild lychee, Erythrophleum fordii, and most species of Ficus. Montane rainforests are distributed across various terrains between 600–1,000 meters in elevation and form the main body of the park’s vegetation, dominated by plants from the Lauraceae, Fagaceae, Symplocaceae, Rubiaceae, and Podocarpaceae families. The park serves as a “showcase” of tropical rainforests, where distinctive forest features such as “upright screen-like buttress roots,” “flowers growing on old trunks and aerial gardens,” “single-tree forests,” “climbing and creeping epiphytes,” and “twining strangler plants” can be commonly seen.

(2) Yajia Waterfall Group

The Yajia Waterfall Group consists of the Yajia Grand Waterfall, a series of stepped waterfalls, and undulating rocky shoals. The Yajia Grand Waterfall has a drop of 150 meters and a width of about 30 meters. At the base of the waterfall lies a deep pool approximately 5 meters deep, 30 meters long, and 20 meters wide. At the top of the waterfall is a series of 5 stepped cascades, each with a drop of 2–20 meters, a width of 15–20 meters, formed along the same rocky ridge, spanning about 400 meters in length.

(3) Banyan on Rock Landscape

This area is a classic example of the vertical distribution of low-mountain rainforest, tropical valley rainforest, and montane rainforest, covering approximately 30 hectares. There are more than 500 root-clinging-rock sites, where the aerial roots of Ficus altissima intertwine ingeniously with massive solitary rocks, creating breathtaking sights such as “root-clinging rocks,” “jadeite rocks,” “banyans on rock,” “welcoming banyans,” and “root waterfalls.” Here, visitors can also observe deciduous tree species and lianas of low-mountain rainforests, palm communities and strangling phenomena in valley rainforests, as well as rare tree species in montane rainforests.

(4) Ancient and Famous Trees

According to surveys, the park is home to 2,213 species of higher plants from 967 genera and 220 families. Among them, there are 2 species of national first-class protected plants: Cycas hainanensis and Hopea hainanensis; and 16 species of national second-class protected plants, including Alseodaphne hainanensis, Horsfieldia hainanensis, Heritiera littoralis, and Cibotium barometz. Notable ancient and famous tree attractions in the park include wild lychee forests, Dacrydium pierrei canopy communities, Yajia pine canopy communities, the “Tree King,” the “Tree God,” Keteleeria evelyniana “King,” thousand-year-old banyans, single-tree forests, and golden belt lianas. In particular, the wild lychee forest is the largest of its kind in Hainan Province, and the “Lychee King” is a rare phenomenon worldwide.

Address:

Changjiang Li Autonomous County, Chengmai, a county-level administrative unit directly under Hainan Province

Ticket

Ticket

Adult ticket: 31 RMB

Discount policies

Child ticket: 0 RMB

Tips

Bawangling Qian Dao: 31 RMB, Qing Dao: Free, Ba Dao: Free.

Montane Rainforest

Valley Rainforest

Yajia Grand Canyon

Yajia Grand Waterfall

Wild Orchid Community

Hopea hainanensis

Root-clinging Rock

Wild Lychee Forest

Shadow of Spindle Trees

Low Mountain Rainforest

Tall Torreya Trees in Splendor

Antiaris Toxicaria (Touch-Me-Not Tree)

Ancient Banyan Embracing Rock

Hainan Gibbon

Cliffs of Bawangling

Primeval Stand of Yajia Pines

Immortals Refining Elixirs

Bawangling Sword-Washing Pool