Qinshui Lishan National Forest Park

　　       Qinshui Lishan National Forest Park is situated in Xiachuan Village — known as the "birthplace of Chinese farming civilization" — around 56 kilometers from the county seat of Qinshui County, Jincheng City, Shanxi Province. The scenic area lies within the embrace of the Taihang, Taiyue, and Zhongtiao mountain ranges, on the summit of Lishan, the highest peak in southwestern Shanxi at an altitude of 2,358 meters. Covering hundreds of square kilometers across the Zhongtiao Mountain Range, the park is a national nature reserve, a national forest park, and a national AAAA-level tourist attraction in China. It consists of five major attractions: the Shunwangping Grassland, Shunwang Ancient Path, Ehuang Valley, Nüying Gorge, Xiachuan Relics, and Lishan Ancient Villages. It boasts the only subalpine grassland spanning ten thousand mu on the North China Plain and the last remaining primeval forest in North China. The Qinshui Lishan area marks the transitional zone between China’s temperate and subtropical regions. Its unique geographical environment and climatic conditions give rise to a spectacular landscape where "majestic peaks, steep cliffs, crystal-clear pools, waterfalls, misty clouds, and rosy clouds" coexist with "high-altitude grasslands, ancient trees, rare plants, medicinal herbs, and exotic flowers." With a vegetation coverage rate as high as 97% and an elevation drop of over 1,000 meters, the park displays varying landscape features throughout different seasons, offering visitors the rare experience of traversing the beauty of all four seasons in a single day. Here, the grand and rugged natural mountain-and-water scenery coexists harmoniously with the ever-changing views of "cloud-shrouded peaks, sea of fog, sunrise, and flowing clouds," reflecting both the majestic vastness of northern landscapes and the serene beauty of southern scenes. Qinshui Lishan is said to be where one of the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Emperor Shun, farmed and developed the prototype of the 24 Solar Terms — the “Seventy-two Hou” phenological calendar. Local villagers still live in distinctive traditional homes of southwestern Shanxi built from wood, stone, earth, and grass. They maintain the traditional farming customs of "working at sunrise and resting at sunset" and preserve an honest, simple lifestyle where "no one picks up lost items on the road and no doors are locked at night." The people here regard Shun as their ancestor, inheriting the legacy of his era, and are known for their hard work and simplicity. Legends about Shun and traces of ancient Chinese farming culture can be found throughout the scenic area. The Qinshui Lishan National Nature Reserve and Scenic Area offers an environment that is "clean water without pollution, blue skies without smog, and fresh air without dust." It is rich in cultural heritage and an excellent destination for travel, vacation, health retreats, fitness adventures, archaeology, photography, artistic inspiration, meditation, leisure, and experiencing the folk customs and cuisine of southwestern Shanxi. The Qinshui Lishan National Nature Reserve and Scenic Area awaits your visit!