Guangdong Nanling National Nature Reserve

Guangdong Nanling National Nature Reserve

Guangdong Nanling National Nature Reserve is a national-level nature reserve.

Guangdong Nanling National Nature Reserve is situated in the heart of the Nanling Mountains at the border between Guangdong and Hunan provinces, in the central part of the Nanling Mountain Range in northern Guangdong. Its geographical coordinates are between 112°30′ and 113°04′ east longitude, and 24°37′ and 24°57′ north latitude. It borders Dajiao Town, Daping, and the Nanshui Reservoir of Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County to the east, Luoyang Township and Gumasui Town of Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County to the south, the Tanling Reservoir of Lianzhou to the west, and the Mengshan National Nature Reserve of Hunan to the north. The total area is 58,400 hectares, making it the largest national nature reserve in Guangdong Province, with a forest coverage rate of over 98%. The Nanling Reserve is classified as a forest ecosystem-type protected area, primarily safeguarding the mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forests, as well as rare and endangered wildlife and their habitats.

In April 1994, with the approval of the State Council, the Guangdong Nanling National Nature Reserve was established by merging five provincial-level nature reserves: the former Ruyang, Dadingshan, Yangshan Longtanjiao, Yangshan Chengjia, and Lianzhou Dadongshan. In 1996, the Nanling Nature Reserve Management Office was set up, with five management stations under it. In 2002, the management office was abolished and the Guangdong Nanling National Nature Reserve Administration was established, with a staff quota of 42. The administration is headquartered at the Ruyang Forestry Bureau within Ruyuan Yao Autonomous County, operating as a directly affiliated, first-tier public institution under the Guangdong Forestry Bureau. Its personnel funding is fully allocated by the provincial finance. The original five management stations were restructured into five management offices (i.e., Ruyang, Dadingshan, Longtanjiao, Chengjia, and Dadongshan). The administration has an office and each management office includes a General Affairs Section and a Protection Management Section. In December 2012, the original five management offices were reduced to four (i.e., Ruyang, Dadingshan, Chengjia, and Dadongshan). The reserve currently has 34 regular staff members, including 4 with master's degrees, 13 with bachelor's degrees, 15 with associate degrees, and 2 with vocational or high school education; there are 4 senior professionals, 16 intermediate-level, and 6 junior-level staff, accounting for 76% of the staff.

The Nanling Nature Reserve is situated on the southern slope of the central section of the Nanling Mountain Range and is the source of the Beijiang River, a tributary of the Pearl River. Geologically, it is part of the South China Fold Belt, historically belonging to the Cathaysia and Yangtze ancient landmasses of the South China Platform. During the peak of marine transgression in the Devonian period, the Dayaoshan sea islands were exposed above sea level. Since the Mesozoic era, after several intense uplifts of the South China Platform, along with marine sedimentation and intrusions of sandstone, limestone, coal-bearing rock, and dolomite, a northwest–southeast mountain range was formed stretching from Tanling in Lianzhou southeastward through Mangshan, Chengjia, and Tianjing Mountain. The lowest elevation in the reserve is 200 meters, while its highest peak, Shikengkong, known as the “Highest Peak in Guangdong,” stands at 1,902 meters. There are more than 30 peaks over 1,000 meters in the area, characterized by mid-mountain topography, overlapping ridges, steep terrain, deep valleys, and mountain slopes generally ranging between 25° and 50°, locally exceeding 60°. The peaks are mostly rounded in shape.

The parent rocks of the soil in the Nanling Nature Reserve include granite, sand shale, and metamorphic rocks. Below 900 meters in elevation, mountain red soil is distributed, featuring deep soil layers and slightly sticky texture; between 900 and 1,800 meters, mountain yellow soil, the main soil type in the reserve, is found with thinner layers but high organic content; above 1,800 meters, mountain shrub-meadow soil forms locally, with low weathering of parent rock, shallow soil, but extremely high organic matter content.

Mailing Address: Guangdong Nanling National Nature Reserve Administration

Postal Code: 512727

Phone: 0751-5232007

Email: nanling1994@126.com

The Nanling National Nature Reserve Administration is accessible by a 10-kilometer drive from the “Dajiao•Nanling Park” exit on the Beijing-Zhuhai Expressway in the Shaoguan section of Guangdong Province.