The Wulingyuan Scenic Area was included in the World Heritage List in December 1992.
Wulingyuan is located in the Wuling Mountains in northwestern Hunan Province, China. It is composed of three distinctive scenic areas: Zhangjiajie, Tianzishan, and Suoxiyu. Covering an area of 369 square kilometers, it is under the jurisdiction of Zhangjiajie City. Hundreds of millions of years ago, this place was once a vast ocean with surging waves. As time passed, the sea turned into mulberry fields.
The peaks and stones here are distinct from elsewhere, standing upright and densely packed. The abrupt cliffs, peaks, and stones resemble silk, bamboo shoots, screens, and softness, arrayed in layers and rows, sprawling across thousands of acres, giving a sense of imposing and grand mountains. Tianzi Mountain and Zhangjiajie offer over eighty viewing platforms where one can quietly admire and appreciate these wonders. The names of these peaks are varied, from the grand ‘Shentang Bay’ and ‘West Sea Scroll’ to the delicate ‘Heavenly Maiden Offering Flowers’, ‘Qu Zi Chanting’, and ‘Arhat Peak’, all of which inspire boundless imagination. When the weather clears after rain or during continuous overcast days, the valleys give birth to mist and clouds that drift through the layered mountains, with the sea of clouds varying in density and the stone peaks appearing and disappearing, creating a myriad of changing scenes. The fog adds an enchanting, ethereal, and mysterious quality to the hard peaks under the clear sky. The best season for viewing the fog is summer, and Tianzi Mountain is the optimal location for this, as well as a frequent haunt for photographers. Wulingyuan is encircled by water that flows around the mountains. It is said that Zhangjiajie alone has ‘eight hundred beautiful waters’, with numerous waterfalls, springs, streams, pools, and lakes each displaying their unique charm. Water brings vitality to the forests, and the Golden Whip Stream is a long stream stretching for tens of kilometers, from Zhangjiajie along the stream to Suoxiyu. It gently flows through Zhicao Pond, Jumping Fish Pond, Nanmu Ping, and Tianzi Zhou, eventually emptying into the Li River at Suoxiyu. The canyons on both sides stand in opposition, with red cliffs and green trees reflected in the stream. Walking along the paths by the stream, one feels a refreshing coolness. Crossing wooden bridges and stone steps, watching the spotted fish play in the ponds, and listening to the cuckoo’s call echoing through the valleys. The caves here are also distinctive, with many in number and large in scale. There are many named caves such as Yellow Dragon Cave, Guanyin Cave, Resounding Water Cave, Turtle Dwelling Cave, Flying Cloud Cave, Golden Spiral Cave, etc., with the Yellow Dragon Cave in Suoxiyu being seven and a half kilometers long. The cave is divided into four levels, containing a reservoir, two rivers, three waterfalls, four pools, thirteen halls, and ninety-six corridors. ‘Icicle Bell Sound’, ‘Emerald Bamboo Path’, and ‘Dragon Palace Dancing’ are the essence of the Yellow Dragon Cave. Wulingyuan is covered with dense forests as far as the eye can see. Forests that have grown for thousands of years without being cut down, with a forest coverage rate as high as 97.9%, even a solitary stone peak stands with a few ancient pines; vast areas of primary and secondary forests block out the sky and the sun, and ancient rare plants such as Metasequoia, Ginkgo, Davidia, and Lobster Flower are everywhere; pheasants, pangolins, monkey-faced owls, red-billed lovebirds, macaques, flying tigers, and giant salamanders are found in the forests and streams. In the early 1980s, experts who surveyed Wulingyuan exclaimed that it is an ‘animal sanctuary’ and a ‘plant gene bank’. Wulingyuan has a mild and rainy climate, without extreme heat or cold, with an average annual temperature of about 15 degrees Celsius. This microclimate provides a good habitat for flora and fauna.
In perfect harmony with the natural scenery lies the simple pastoral landscape. Wulingyuan, a habitat for ethnic minorities such as the Tujia, Bai, and Miao, is dotted with terraced fields and houses scattered amidst the green hills and clear waters. Surrounded by lush trees and with the gentle rise of cooking smoke, one might also have the fortune to witness traditional ethnic songs and dances during local festivals. These elements blend seamlessly with the mountains and dense forests of Wulingyuan, forming a primitive and vast canvas.
