In the depths of winter, three consecutive days of snow blanketed the Dajiuhu Wetland in Shennongjia completely. Snow in the forests piled up dozens of centimeters thick, while on the lake surface, the ice layer was solid enough for waterbirds to walk upon. Eager to see how sphagnum moss survives in such icy conditions, we drove from Muyu Town straight to Dajiuhu to find out.
On December 16, under a crystal-clear blue sky, the winter sun in Shennongjia filtered through the towering branches of Bashan fir, Huashan pine, and Japanese larch. Its light fell upon two simple, grey-walled buildings with red-tiled roofs within the Dalongtan Golden Snub-nosed Monkey Research Base of the Shennongjia National Park’s Science Research Institute. These structures serve as both staff quarters and offices for the research team.
On January 2, 2026, the overseas social media account “Shennongjia Golden Snub-nosed Monkey (SGSM)”, dedicated to the golden snub-nosed monkeys of the Shennongjia National Park candidate area and operated by the Jimu International Communication Center of Hubei Daily Media Group, reached a milestone of over 100,000 followers. This number not only marks the success of the account’s operation but also signifies that the vivid practice of biodiversity conservation in Shennongjia is stepping onto the world stage with unprecedented intimacy through the lively image of the golden snub-nosed monkey.
At 19:00 on November 19th, the snow on Dajiuhu had not disappeared, and temperature already dropped below zero. Inside the Dongxi Management & Conservation Center of Dajiuhu Agency of the Administration of Shennongjia National Park, an urgent phone ringing broke the quiet of twilight—an urgent report came that people were illegally building fires for heat by the roadside, creating potential risk of forest fires.
As the Third China-Uk National Parks Collabration Workshop successfully concluded,Deputy Consul-General Wuhan Richard Cox expresses his sincerest gratitude on behalf of the Consulate-General in Wuhan for strong support of the Shennongjia National Park through the event.