What do you think of when you hear Bashan Lengshan (Abies fargesii Franch.)? You might think of Daba Mountains, a general term for the mountains located at the junction of Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Hubei provinces. You might also think of fir trees, which may grow on high and cold mountains, standing tall and green all year round.
On March 11, the Shennongding Agency of the Administration of Shennongjia National Park organized the Wenshui Management and Conservation Center, the Shennongding Management and Conservation Center, and part-time forest rangers to participate in the tree-planting activities held across the Administration, contributing to ecological conservation and the forming of an ecological green belt.
In the Shennongtan area in Shennongjia, there is an ancient Keteleeria davidiana with a history of over a thousand years. According to local folklore, a long time ago, a bully living in the mountains saw that this tree was so tall and wanted to use it as his coffin in the future. However, no axe or knife could hurt it. The bully thought this was the tree showing its divine power, and was frightened and fled. No one knows if its Chinese name Tiejian Youshan (meaning “the iron-hard Keteleeria”) comes from this legend.
When entering the primeval forest in Shennongjia, you will not only be greeted by a large stretch of dense forest that blocks out the sky, but also by the gauze-like Usnea orientalis in the forest.
Located in the hinterland of Central China, between the Yangtze River and the Hanjiang River, Shennongjia is high in the southwest and low in the northeast.