Anhua Hongyan Nature Reserve
2022-07-26
Going 4 kilometers north along Anhua County, you can find the Hongyan Nature Reserve, which is located at the northern foot of the Xuefeng Mountain. Taking the reservoir as the center, nearly 9,000 hectares of the area is endowed with beautiful scenery.
Anhua Hongyan Nature Reserve, established in the year of 2000, is located in Muziguan District, Dongping Town, Anhua County. It is 26 kilometers away from Taohuayuan and 4 kilometers away from Anhua County, with a total area of 8,960 hectares and the forest coverage rate reaching 90%.
Anhua Hongyan Nature Reserve integrates forest ecological wildlife and water conservation area. A total of 1,310 species of plants and animals have been recorded, including 971 species of woody plants and 134 species of vertebrates. There are 6 species of national first-class protected plants like metasequoia, Chinese cypress and ginkgo biloba as well as 17 species of national second-class protected plants such as Fujian cypress, South China five-needle pine and Emmenopterys henryi Oliv. Besides, there are 5 species of national first-class protected animals including clouded leopard and forest musk deer as well as 13 species of national second-class protected animals such as pangolin and jackal.
The mountains are endless, 39 of which are over 500 meters high. More than 20 streams connect each valley and finally merge into the Zijiang River. Stepping into the mountains, you will find flourishing trees everywhere. Its forest coverage rate is 90% and has a strong purification capacity. Therefore, the streams here are clear all year round and function as the first-grade national drinking water source protection zone.
Lush mountains and lucid waters have benefited the local people. The nearby villagers are so healthy that it’s quite common for them to live beyond 80 even 90 years old. Therefore, people call this place a “longevity village”.
There is complex terrain with lots of mountains, water and forests in the nature reserve. It is a subtropical monsoon humid climate zone with heavy clouds and fog, low temperature, high rainfall and less sunshine, which forms a variety of unique ecological environments and provides good living conditions for different organisms.
The rare subtropical hygrophilous tree species prefer to gather here. Maire Yew, a kind of national first-class protected plant, is on the verge of extinction due to its slow growth rate and poor regeneration ability under natural conditions. But it can grow up well in the Hongyan Nature Reserve.
As a kind of national second-class protected plant, the first flowering age of Emmenopterys henryi Oliv is late with low seed setting rate and low seed germination rate. It prefers mild or cool climate and moist fertile soil. At this time of the year, its fragrance can be smelled in the Hongyan Nature Reserve. The white, light red or light yellow flowers look refreshingly beautiful in the sunshine.
