The Wuyi Mountains or Wuyishan (; formerly known as Bohea Hills in early Western documents) are a mountain range located in the prefecture of

Nanping Nanping (), historically known as Yanping (), is a third-tier prefecture-level city in northwestern Fujian Province, People's Republic of China. It borders Ningde to the east, Sanming to the south, and the provinces of Zhejiang and Jiangxi to ...

, in northern

Fujian province Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

near the border with Jiangxi province, China. The highest peak in the area is

Mount Huanggang Mount Huanggang () is the highest peak in the UNESCO designated Wuyi Mountains, China. It separates and is the highest point of both Fujian and Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in th ...

at on the border of

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its cap ...

and

Jiangxi Jiangxi (; ; formerly romanized as Kiangsi or Chianghsi) is a landlocked province in the east of the People's Republic of China. Its major cities include Nanchang and Jiujiang. Spanning from the banks of the Yangtze river in the north int ...

, making it the highest point of both provinces; the lowest altitudes are around . Many oolong and

black tea Black tea, also translated to red tea in various East Asian languages, is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from ...

s are produced in the Wuyi Mountains, including

Da Hong Pao Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe, 大紅袍) is a Wuyi rock tea grown in the Wuyi Mountains of Fujian Province, China. Da Hong Pao has a unique orchid fragrance and a long-lasting sweet aftertaste. Dry Da Hong Pao has a shape like tightly knotted rope ...

('big red robe') and

lapsang souchong Lapsang souchong (; ) or Zhengshan xiaozhong () is a black tea consisting of leaves that are smoke-dried over a pinewood fire. This smoking is accomplished either as a cold smoke of the raw leaves as they are processed or as a hot smoke of pr ...

, and are sold as

Wuyi tea Wuyi tea, also known by the trade name Bohea in English, is a category of black and oolong teas grown in the Wuyi Mountains of northern Fujian, China. The Wuyi region produces a number of well-known teas, including Lapsang souchong and Da Hon ...

. The mountain range is known worldwide for its status as a refugium for several rare and

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also found else ...

plant species, its dramatic river valleys, and the abundance of important temples and archeological sites in the region, and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Wuyi Mountains are located between

Wuyishan City Wuyishan City () is a county-level city in the municipal region of Nanping, in the northwest of Fujian, People's Republic of China, which borders Jiangxi to the northwest. It corresponds to the former Chong'an County. Natural and cultural herita ...

of the

prefecture in northwest

province, and the town of Wuyishan within

Shangrao Shangrao () is a medium-sized prefecture-level city located in the northeast of Jiangxi province, People's Republic of China. The city borders the province of Anhui to the north, the province of Zhejiang to the east, and the province of Fujian to t ...

city in northeast

province.

Description

World Heritage Site

The mountains have been listed since 1999 as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

, for cultural, scenic, and

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

values.Evaluation by UNESCO advisory board (1999)
/ref> The site has a total area of 99,975 hectares that is divided into four core parts. Three are

ecological Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overlaps wi ...

: the

Nine-bend Stream The Jiuqu Xi river (; also Jiuqu River), is the river rising in the Wuyi Mountains or Wuyishan (), formerly known as Bohea Hills in early Western documents. The river and the mountain range are located in the prefecture of Nanping, in northern F ...

Ecological Protection Area (36,400 ha) in the centre, flanked by the Wuyishan National Nature Reserve (56,527 ha) to the west and the Wuyishan National Scenic Area (7,000 ha) to the east. The fourth, a

cultural preservation The conservation and restoration of cultural property focuses on protection and care of cultural property (tangible cultural heritage), including artworks, architecture, archaeology, and museum collections. Conservation activities include prev ...

area, is the Protection Area for the Remains of the Ancient Han Dynasty (48 ha), about 15 km to the southeast of the others. These core parts are surrounded by an additional buffer zone of 27,888 ha.Mount Wuyi, UNESCO World Heritage List
/ref> Portions of the Wuyishan National Nature Reserve are more stringently protected, as the Fujian and Jiangxi Wuyishan Biosphere Reserves on the respective sides of the provincial border, under the UNESCO

World Network of Biosphere Reserves The UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserves (WNBR) covers internationally designated protected areas, known as biosphere reserves, which are meant to demonstrate a balanced relationship between people and nature (e.g. encourage sustainable de ...

Geology

The region is part of the

Cathaysia Cathaysia was a microcontinent or a group of terranes that rifted off Gondwana during the Late Paleozoic. They mostly correspond to modern territory of China, which were split into the North China and South China blocks. Terminology The terms " ...

n fold system and has experienced high volcanic activity and the formation of large fault structures, which were subsequently subject to erosion by water and weathering. The landscape is characterized by beautiful winding river valleys flanked by columnar or dome-shaped cliffs as well as cave systems. Peaks in the western portion of the Wuyi Mountains typically consist of volcanic or plutonic rocks, whereas peaks and hills in the eastern area are made up of red

sandstone Sandstone is a clastic sedimentary rock composed mainly of sand-sized (0.0625 to 2 mm) silicate grains. Sandstones comprise about 20–25% of all sedimentary rocks. Most sandstone is composed of quartz or feldspar (both silicates ...

(particularly in the east) with very steep slopes but flat tops (

Danxia landform The Danxia landform () refers to various landscapes found in southeast, southwest and northwest China that "consist of a red bed characterized by steep cliffs". It is a unique type of petrographic geomorphology found in China. Danxia landform ...

). Bedrock lithology at Wuyi Shan is dominated by

tuff Tuff is a type of rock made of volcanic ash ejected from a vent during a volcanic eruption. Following ejection and deposition, the ash is lithified into a solid rock. Rock that contains greater than 75% ash is considered tuff, while rock ...

, rhyolite, and

granite Granite () is a coarse-grained ( phaneritic) intrusive igneous rock composed mostly of quartz, alkali feldspar, and plagioclase. It forms from magma with a high content of silica and alkali metal oxides that slowly cools and solidifies under ...

in the western part. Red

is common farther east. The elevation ranges from 200 m (656 ft) to 2,158 m (7,080 ft). The terrain is rugged with cliffs and high peaks. There are numerous

cavern A cave or cavern is a natural void in the ground, specifically a space large enough for a human to enter. Caves often form by the weathering of rock and often extend deep underground. The word ''cave'' can refer to smaller openings such as sea ...

s in the mountains, some of which have been explored and opened to the public . The Jiuqu Xi river (; also Jiuqu River), about 60 kilometers in length, meanders in a deep gorge among these hills. In most places, it is a slow, shallow stream navigable only by small craft like rowboats and canoes. However, the river narrows at one point to just a few metres but a depth of .

Climate

The Wuyi Mountains act as a protective barrier against the inflow of cold air from the northwest and retain warm moist air originating from the sea. As a result, the area has a humid climate (humidity 80 to 85%) with high rainfall (annual average 2,200 millimeters in the south-west and 3,200 millimeters in the north) and common fogs. Lower altitudes experience annual temperatures in the range from 12 °C to 18 °C. The area is relatively

pollution Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into the natural environment that cause adverse change. Pollution can take the form of any substance (solid, liquid, or gas) or energy (such as radioactivity, heat, sound, or light). Pollutants, the ...

free. The Chinese government set up its first air-quality monitoring station in the area on January 31, 2005. Lower elevations have a humid subtropical climate with mean annual temperature around 18 °C (64 °F) and mean annual precipitation of at least 220 cm (86.6 in). Cooler, wetter conditions prevail at higher altitudes and winters can be snowy on the highest peaks.

Biodiversity

Flora

The Wuyi Mountains are the largest and most representative example of Chinese subtropical

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

s, and of the

of south Chinese rainforest. The region's

ecology Ecology () is the study of the relationships between living organisms, including humans, and their physical environment. Ecology considers organisms at the individual, population, community, ecosystem, and biosphere level. Ecology overl ...

has survived from before the

Ice Age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gre ...

around 3 million years ago. Biologists have been conducting field research in the area since 1873. The vegetation of the area depends strongly on altitude. Broadleaf evergreen forests dominate the lower elevations; their tree species yield to deciduous and needleleaf evergreen trees at higher elevations. It is divided into 11 broad categories: * Temperate coniferous forest * Warm coniferous forest * Temperate broad-leaved and coniferous mixed forest * Deciduous and broad-leaved forest * Evergreen broad-leaved and deciduous mixed forest * Evergreen broad-leaved forest * Bamboo forest * Deciduous broad-leaved shrub forest * Evergreen broad-leaved shrub forest * Brush-wood * Meadow steppe Most common are evergreen broad-leaved forests, some of which make up the largest remaining tracts of humid sub-tropical forests in the world. Higher plants from 284 families, 1,107 genera, and 2,888 species, as well as 840 species of lower plant and fungus, have been reported for the region. The most common tree families are beech ( Fagaceae), laurel ( Lauraceae), camellia (

Theaceae Theaceae (), the tea family, is a family of flowering plants comprising shrubs and trees, including the economically important tea plant, and the ornamental camellias. It can be described as having from seven to 40 genera, depending on the sour ...

), magnolia (

Magnoliaceae The Magnoliaceae () are a flowering plant family, the magnolia family, in the order Magnoliales. It consists of two genera: ''Magnolia'' and '' Liriodendron'' (tulip trees). Unlike most angiosperms, whose flower parts are in whorls (rings), t ...

Elaeocarpaceae Elaeaocarpaceae is a family of flowering plants. The family contains approximately 615 species of trees and shrubs in 12 genera."Elaeocarpaceae" In: Klaus Kubitzki (ed.). ''The Families and Genera of Vascular Plants'' vol. VI. Springer-Verlag: Be ...

, and witch-hazel (

Hamamelidaceae Hamamelidaceae, commonly referred to as the witch-hazel family, is a family of flowering plants in the order Saxifragales. The clade consists of shrubs and small trees positioned within the woody clade of the core Saxifragales. An earlier syste ...

Fauna

The fauna of the Wuyi Mountains is renowned for its high diversity, which includes many rare and unusual species. In total, approximately 5,000 animal species have been reported for the area. Of these species, 475 are

vertebrate Vertebrates () comprise all animal taxa within the subphylum Vertebrata () (chordates with backbones), including all mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, and fish. Vertebrates represent the overwhelming majority of the phylum Chordata, with c ...

s and 4,635 are

insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body ( head, thorax and abdomen), three ...

s. The number of vertebrate species is divided as follows: Forty-nine vertebrate species are

to China and three are endemic to the Wuyi Mountains. The latter are the bird David's parrotbill (''Neosuthora davidiana''), Pope's spiny toad (''Vibrissaphora liui''), and the bamboo snake ''Pseudoxenodon karlschmidti'' (family

Colubrid Colubridae (, commonly known as colubrids , from la, coluber, 'snake') is a family of snakes. With 249 genera, it is the largest snake family. The earliest species of the family date back to the Oligocene epoch. Colubrid snakes are found on ev ...

ae). Other known endangered species in the area include

South China tiger The South China tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies that is native to southern China. The population mainly inhabited the Fujian, Guangdong, Hunan and Jiangxi provinces. It has been listed as Critically Endange ...

(''Panthera tigris amoyensis''), clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''),

hairy-fronted muntjac The hairy-fronted muntjac or black muntjac (''Muntiacus crinifrons'') is a type of deer currently found in Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Fujian in southeastern China. It is considered to be endangered, possibly down to as few as 5–10,000 individ ...

(''Muntiacus crinifrons''),

Mainland serow The mainland serow (''Capricornis sumatraensis'') is a serow species native to the Himalayas, Southeast Asia and China. The mainland serow is related closely to the red serow, Himalayan serow, Sumatran serow, and the Chinese serow (''C. milneed ...

(''Capricornis milneedwardsii''– a

goat antelope The subfamily Caprinae, also sometimes referred to as the tribe Caprini, is part of the ruminant family (biology), family Bovidae, and consists of mostly medium-sized bovids. A member of this subfamily is called a caprine, or, more informally, ...

), Cabot's tragopan (''Tragopan caboti''), Chinese black-backed pheasant (''Syrmaticus ellioti''),

Chinese giant salamander The Chinese giant salamander (''Andrias davidianus'') is one of the largest salamanders and one of the largest amphibians in the world.golden Kaiser-i-Hind (''Teinopalpus aureus'' – a swallowtail butterfly).

Human history and culture

Human settlement on the slopes of Mount Wuyi can be traced back 4,000 years by archeological remains. During the

Western Han Dynasty The Han dynasty (, ; ) was an imperial dynasty of China (202 BC – 9 AD, 25–220 AD), established by Liu Bang (Emperor Gao) and ruled by the House of Liu. The dynasty was preceded by the short-lived Qin dynasty (221–207 BC) and a war ...

, the ancient city of Chengcun was the capital of the

Minyue Minyue () was an ancient kingdom in what is now the Fujian province in southern China. It was a contemporary of the Han dynasty, and was later annexed by the Han empire as the dynasty expanded southward. The kingdom existed approximately from ...

kingdom. In the 7th century, the

Wuyi Palace Wuyi () may refer to: Places *Wuyi Mountains (武夷山) in Fujian and Jiangxi *Wuyi County, Hebei (武邑县) *Wuyi County, Zhejiang (武义县) * Wuyi Lane, historical street in Nanjing * Wuyi, Anhui (乌衣镇), town in Nanqiao District, Chuzhou ...

was built for emperors to conduct sacrificial activities, a site that tourists can still visit today. The mountains were an important center of

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

and later

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

. Remains of 35 academies erected from the era of the

Northern Song Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a r ...

to the

Qing Dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-spea ...

and more than 60 Taoist temples and monasteries have been located. However, most of these remains are very incomplete. Some of the exceptions for which authentic remains are preserved are the Taoyuan Temple, the Wannian Palace, the Sanqing Hall, the Tiancheng Temple, the Baiyun temple, and the Tianxin temple. The area is the cradle of

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism (, often shortened to ''lǐxué'' 理學, literally "School of Principle") is a moral, ethical, and metaphysical Chinese philosophy influenced by Confucianism, and originated with Han Yu (768–824) and Li Ao (772–841) in t ...

, a current that became very influential since the 11th century. Wuyi Shan Fengjing Mingsheng Qu 2012

大红袍祖庭 - Place of Worship for Dahongpao(Big Red Robe Tea) - 2010

Ceremonies

Mountain Call and Mountain Open are ceremonies held in the Wuyi imperial tea garden. The county magistrate used to take the chair of the Mountain Call ceremony on

Jingzhe ''Jīngzhé'', 惊蛰, is the 3rd of the 24 solar terms (節氣) in the traditional Chinese calendars. It begins when the Sun reaches the celestial longitude of 345° and ends when it reaches the longitude of 360°. More often, it refers to t ...

Day (). In the formal ceremony, tea planters call out together "tea, tea, sprout". By doing this, they pray for blessings in the tea harvest.

Leap-year meals

Special leap-year meals are called Liu Qin () meals. Every leap year and

leap month Intercalation or embolism in timekeeping is the insertion of a leap day, Leap week calendar, week, or month into some calendar years to make the calendar follow the seasons or moon phases. Lunisolar calendars may require intercalations of both d ...

, parents and brothers must invite their married daughters and sisters to return and have meals with their original family. When parents are living, they make the invitation; otherwise brothers do it.

Tourism

The number of visitors to the area increased from approximately 424,000 in 1993 to 700,000 in 1998. A raft trip down the Nine-bend River is the most popular activity. Another major attraction is Fuxi Cave, where the narrowest passage – the Thread of Sky – is less than , a fissure open to the surface above. A few hours away is Roaring Tiger Rock, where wind blowing into a cave makes a roaring sound. The nearby Tian Cheng Temple, built in 1707, features a large rock-relief statue of the Chinese goddess of mercy, carved directly into the mountainside. Two more explorable caverns in the area are Ling Cave and Feng Cave. At least one guided-tour company operates combined tours to several of these mountain features. Visitor access to the biodiversity-protection areas in the mountains is controlled.

Tea

The Wuyi Mountains have a long history of tea cultivation. The four most widely known varieties of

Wuyi rock-essence tea Wuyi tea, also known by the trade name Bohea in English, is a category of black and oolong teas grown in the Wuyi Mountains of northern Fujian, China. The Wuyi region produces a number of well-known teas, including Lapsang souchong and Da Hong ...

are referred to as the ''

Si Da Ming Cong Si Da Ming Cong () is a collective term referring to four famous Wuyi oolong tea bush varieties and the tea beverages made from them, namely: * Da Hong Pao Da Hong Pao (Big Red Robe, 大紅袍) is a Wuyi rock tea grown in the Wuyi Mountains ...

'' ('Four Great Cultivars') teas:

('Big Red Robe'), Tie Luo Han ('Iron

Arhat In Buddhism, an ''arhat'' (Sanskrit: अर्हत्) or ''arahant'' (Pali: अरहन्त्, 𑀅𑀭𑀳𑀦𑁆𑀢𑁆) is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence and has achieved ''Nirvana'' and liberated ...

'),

Bai Jiguan Bai Ji Guan or Bai Jiguan (; pronounced ) is a very light ''Si Da Ming Cong'' tea, a well-known oolong tea of Wuyi, in Fujian, China. Legend has it that the name of this tea (which translates to 'white rooster' or more literally 'white cocksco ...

('White Cockscomb'), and Shui Jin Gui ('Golden Water Turtle'). The

Lapsang souchong Lapsang souchong (; ) or Zhengshan xiaozhong () is a black tea consisting of leaves that are smoke-dried over a pinewood fire. This smoking is accomplished either as a cold smoke of the raw leaves as they are processed or as a hot smoke of pr ...

also originates from the area.

Tea-picking opera

The Wuyi Mountains area is the birthplace of tea-picking opera. Developed from local folk dances and songs, the performances are comedic and focused on daily life in the tea-growing region. Tea-picking opera reflects the strongly rural nature and basics of

Hakka culture Hakka culture ( zh, t=客家文化) refers to the culture created by Hakka people, a Han Chinese subgroup, across Asia and Americas. It encompasses the shared language, various art forms, food culture, folklore, and traditional customs. Hakka cul ...

. This has made it popular in the local area.

Impression Da Hong Pao Show

As the world's only large-scale landscape live-action show showcasing Chinese tea culture, Impression

showcases the history of tea and the various tea-making processes around the tea culture of Wuyi Mountain. Impression Da Hong Pao is 70 minutes long and takes place in a completely open landscape, making it the world's first "landscape surroundings theater".

References

External links

* Travel guide at Wikivoyage
Description of natural features
{{authority control Mountains of Fujian Mountain ranges of Jiangxi Wuyi Geography of East China Highest points of Chinese provinces Biosphere reserves of China AAAAA-rated tourist attractions Tourist attractions in Fujian World Heritage Sites in China Parks in Fujian