Shennongjia
Encyclopedia
Shennongjia Forestry District is a county-level administrative unit (a "forestry district") in Hubei
province, directly subordinated to the provincial government. It occupies 3,253 square kilometers in western Hubei, and, as of 2007 had the resident population estimated at 74,000 (with the registered population of 79,976).
The population is predominantly (95%) Han Chinese
, the remaining 5% being mostly Tujia.
that is designated a "forestry district" (林区), rather than a more usual county or county-level city
.
Shennongjia's status within Hubei is also somewhat unusual, in that this county-level unit is directly administered by the provincial government as opposed to be part of a prefecture-level city
or prefecture, as are Hubei's all "normal" counties. However, this arrangement is not unique to Shennongjia, as Hubei also has three county-level cities (Xiantao
, Tianmen
, Qianjiang
) which are directly under the provincial government, without being part of a prefecture-level unit.
The district was created in 1970 from the adjacent areas of Badong County, Xingshan County
, and Fang County
.
(Daba Shan). It lies within the Daba Mountains evergreen forests ecoregion
. Some of Hubei's highest mountains - which are also the highest mountains of the Daba Shan - are located within the district. The three tallest peaks, located west of Muyu
town, are Shennong Deng (3105 m elevation), Da Shennongjia (3052 m), and Xiao Shennongjia (3005 m, on the border with Badong County). Laojun Shan, 2936 m tall, is located northeast of Muyu.
The mountains of Shennongjia form a divide between two parts of the district: the central and northern part drains north, into the Han River (a tributary of the Yangtze which joins the Yangtze much further east, in Wuhan
), while the southern section drains into the Yangtze in a more direct way, via a number of short streams flowing south, such as Shen Nong Stream
.
There are a number of conservation areas in the district's mountains and wetlands, in particular the world-famous Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (神农架国家自然保护区), listed on UNESCO
's World Network of Biosphere Reserves
. The reserve includes 2,618 km² of forest, and, due to a variety of natural conditions at different elevations, has high plant diversity. One survey by Chinese botanists reports 3,479 higher plant species found in a certain area.
The protected animal species include Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
, whose population in the district was reported to have grown between 1990 and 2005 from 500 to over 1200. A specially protected 100-square-km area is designated for this endangered primate species.
The county seat is in Songbai Town
in the northern of the district; the main tourist center is Muyu
Town, near the southern border of the district.
There are numerous tourist attractions throughout the district, but most of the district is closed to foreign tourists, with the exception of a narrow strip along its southern border (south of Yazikou Junction). The open area includes the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve.
The district's low population, compared to a typical Hubei county of a similar size, means comparatively small amount of agriculture; nonetheless, the district tries to put itself on the world map as a tea producer. There are mining operations throughout the district.
As elsewhere in the mountainous western Hubei, numerous small hydroelectric plants utilize the energy of Shennongjia's rivers and streams.
Numerous tourist facilities operate along the China National Highway 209
, in particular in and around Muyu
Town.
On average, the area remains comparatively poor, with the GDP per capita lower than any of Hubei's prefecture-level units. Of course, direct comparison between Shennongjia and a prefecture-level unit of Hubei such as Yichang
or Huangshi
can be misleading, since nearly all of Hubei's prefecture-level units have a large urbanized core (with corresponding higher incomes), while Shennongjia does not.
(G209), which, however, is still "unimproved" in many places both within district (north of the national park entry at Yazikou) and in Badong County south of it. In practice most visitors enter the district from its southern border, traveling along a provincial highway from Yichang
, which merges with G209 near Gaoyang in Xingshan County
. This route is a good paved road, designated as the Yi-Shen (Yichang-Shennongjia) Route.
Hubei Provincial Route 307 (S307) runs through the northeastern part of the district, from G209 east to Songbai Town and on into the neighboring Baokang County
(part of Xiangfan
prefecture-level city).
Due to the mountainous terrain, the district has no rail or water transport. However, construction of Shennongjia Airport
started in April 2011 with an investment of 1 billion yuan.
Hubei
' Hupeh) is a province in Central China. The name of the province means "north of the lake", referring to its position north of Lake Dongting...
province, directly subordinated to the provincial government. It occupies 3,253 square kilometers in western Hubei, and, as of 2007 had the resident population estimated at 74,000 (with the registered population of 79,976).
The population is predominantly (95%) Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
, the remaining 5% being mostly Tujia.
Administration
The administrative status of Shennongjia is rather unique, in that it is the only county-level administrative unit of the People's Republic of ChinaPeople's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
that is designated a "forestry district" (林区), rather than a more usual county or county-level city
County-level city
A county-level city is a county-level administrative division of mainland China. County-level cities are usually governed by prefecture-level divisions, but a few are governed directly by province-level divisions....
.
Shennongjia's status within Hubei is also somewhat unusual, in that this county-level unit is directly administered by the provincial government as opposed to be part of a prefecture-level city
Prefecture-level city
A prefectural level city , prefectural city or prefectural level municipality is an administrative division of the People's Republic of China, ranking below a province and above a county in China's administrative structure. Prefectural level cities form the second level of the administrative...
or prefecture, as are Hubei's all "normal" counties. However, this arrangement is not unique to Shennongjia, as Hubei also has three county-level cities (Xiantao
Xiantao
Xiantao is a sub-prefecture level city in the province of south-east Hubei province, Central China. As of 2005, it had a population of 240,000.-Sports:...
, Tianmen
Tianmen
Tianmen is a sub-prefecture-level city in central Hubei Province, Central China.It is on the west of Wuhan and east of Jingzhou. Formerly known as Jingling , it was renamed to Tianmen in 1726 during Qing Dynasty....
, Qianjiang
Qianjiang, Hubei
Qianjiang is a sub-prefecture-level city of south-central Hubei province, Central China.-Geography and climate:Qianjiang is located in south-central Hubei province in the Jiang-Han plain. Its area...
) which are directly under the provincial government, without being part of a prefecture-level unit.
The district was created in 1970 from the adjacent areas of Badong County, Xingshan County
Xingshan County
Xingshan County is a county of Hubei, China. It is under the administration of Yichang Prefecture-level City.-Geography:The county occupies the mountainous north-western corner of Yichang prefecture , bordering on Badong County in the west and Shennongjia in the north...
, and Fang County
Fang County
Fang County is a county of Hubei, China. It is under the administration of Shiyan city....
.
Geography and nature
Shennongjia Forestry District is named after the Shennongjia mountainous massif, which is usually considered to be the eastern (and the highest) section of the Daba MountainsDaba Mountains
Daba Mountains, or Dabashan is a mountain range in Central China, north of the Yangtze River.-Geography:The Daba Mountains run in the general west-northwest to east-southeast direction, along the border between, on the one side Sichuan and Chongqing, and on the other side Shaanxi and Hubei...
(Daba Shan). It lies within the Daba Mountains evergreen forests ecoregion
Ecoregion
An ecoregion , sometimes called a bioregion, is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than an ecozone and larger than an ecosystem. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of land or water, and contain characteristic, geographically distinct assemblages of natural...
. Some of Hubei's highest mountains - which are also the highest mountains of the Daba Shan - are located within the district. The three tallest peaks, located west of Muyu
Muyu, Hubei
Muyu is a town in Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province, China. Located on China National Highway 209, it is the main population and services center of the southern part of the district....
town, are Shennong Deng (3105 m elevation), Da Shennongjia (3052 m), and Xiao Shennongjia (3005 m, on the border with Badong County). Laojun Shan, 2936 m tall, is located northeast of Muyu.
The mountains of Shennongjia form a divide between two parts of the district: the central and northern part drains north, into the Han River (a tributary of the Yangtze which joins the Yangtze much further east, in Wuhan
Wuhan
Wuhan is the capital of Hubei province, People's Republic of China, and is the most populous city in Central China. It lies at the east of the Jianghan Plain, and the intersection of the middle reaches of the Yangtze and Han rivers...
), while the southern section drains into the Yangtze in a more direct way, via a number of short streams flowing south, such as Shen Nong Stream
Shen Nong Stream
Shennong Stream is a left tributary of the Yangtze River, located in the Hubei Province of central China. Fed by tributaries some of which come from the Shennongjia Forestry District, the stream flows south, falling into the Yangtze opposite the city of Badong.Originally the Shennong Stream...
.
There are a number of conservation areas in the district's mountains and wetlands, in particular the world-famous Shennongjia National Nature Reserve (神农架国家自然保护区), listed on UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
's World Network of Biosphere Reserves
World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Asia and the Pacific
Under UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Reserve Programme, there are currently 113 biosphere reserves recognized as part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves in Asia and the Pacific...
. The reserve includes 2,618 km² of forest, and, due to a variety of natural conditions at different elevations, has high plant diversity. One survey by Chinese botanists reports 3,479 higher plant species found in a certain area.
The protected animal species include Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
Golden Snub-nosed Monkey
The golden snub-nosed monkey is an Old World monkey in the Colobinae subfamily. It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. The Chinese name is sichuan golden hair monkey . It is also widely referred to as the sichuan snub-nosed monkey...
, whose population in the district was reported to have grown between 1990 and 2005 from 500 to over 1200. A specially protected 100-square-km area is designated for this endangered primate species.
The county seat is in Songbai Town
Town (China)
When referring to political divisions of China, town is the standard English translation of the Chinese 鎮 . It is a fourth-level administrative unit, i.e...
in the northern of the district; the main tourist center is Muyu
Muyu, Hubei
Muyu is a town in Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province, China. Located on China National Highway 209, it is the main population and services center of the southern part of the district....
Town, near the southern border of the district.
There are numerous tourist attractions throughout the district, but most of the district is closed to foreign tourists, with the exception of a narrow strip along its southern border (south of Yazikou Junction). The open area includes the Shennongjia National Nature Reserve.
Economy
The district is mountainous and (as its name suggested) heavily forested, which, historically, made forestry the main industry. Over 100,000 cubic meters of timber was produced in the district annually from the 1960s to 1980s (over 1,000,000 m³ in the 1970s), but in the late 1990s the focus was switched from logging to forest conservation. Officially, felling of natural forest completely ceased in March 2000.The district's low population, compared to a typical Hubei county of a similar size, means comparatively small amount of agriculture; nonetheless, the district tries to put itself on the world map as a tea producer. There are mining operations throughout the district.
As elsewhere in the mountainous western Hubei, numerous small hydroelectric plants utilize the energy of Shennongjia's rivers and streams.
Numerous tourist facilities operate along the China National Highway 209
China National Highway 209
China National Highway 209 runs from Huhhot, Inner Mongolia to Beihai, Guangxi province. It is3,435 kilometres in length and runs south from Huhhot towards Shanxi province, Henan province, Hubei province, Hunan province, and ends in Guangxi province.Despite the "National Highway" designation, G209...
, in particular in and around Muyu
Muyu, Hubei
Muyu is a town in Shennongjia Forestry District, Hubei Province, China. Located on China National Highway 209, it is the main population and services center of the southern part of the district....
Town.
On average, the area remains comparatively poor, with the GDP per capita lower than any of Hubei's prefecture-level units. Of course, direct comparison between Shennongjia and a prefecture-level unit of Hubei such as Yichang
Yichang
Yichang is a prefecture-level city located in Hubei province of the People's Republic of China. It is the second largest city in Hubei province after the province capital, Wuhan. The Three Gorges Dam is located within its administrative area, in Yiling District.-History:In ancient times Yichang...
or Huangshi
Huangshi
Huangshi is a prefecture-level city in China's Hubei province.-Geography and climate:The prefecture-level city of Huangshi is located in southeastern Hubei province, along the southwestern bank of one of the major bends in the Yangtze River. It is located 100 km south-east of Wuhan, and...
can be misleading, since nearly all of Hubei's prefecture-level units have a large urbanized core (with corresponding higher incomes), while Shennongjia does not.
Transportation
The main north-south route throughout the district is China National Highway 209China National Highway 209
China National Highway 209 runs from Huhhot, Inner Mongolia to Beihai, Guangxi province. It is3,435 kilometres in length and runs south from Huhhot towards Shanxi province, Henan province, Hubei province, Hunan province, and ends in Guangxi province.Despite the "National Highway" designation, G209...
(G209), which, however, is still "unimproved" in many places both within district (north of the national park entry at Yazikou) and in Badong County south of it. In practice most visitors enter the district from its southern border, traveling along a provincial highway from Yichang
Yichang
Yichang is a prefecture-level city located in Hubei province of the People's Republic of China. It is the second largest city in Hubei province after the province capital, Wuhan. The Three Gorges Dam is located within its administrative area, in Yiling District.-History:In ancient times Yichang...
, which merges with G209 near Gaoyang in Xingshan County
Xingshan County
Xingshan County is a county of Hubei, China. It is under the administration of Yichang Prefecture-level City.-Geography:The county occupies the mountainous north-western corner of Yichang prefecture , bordering on Badong County in the west and Shennongjia in the north...
. This route is a good paved road, designated as the Yi-Shen (Yichang-Shennongjia) Route.
Hubei Provincial Route 307 (S307) runs through the northeastern part of the district, from G209 east to Songbai Town and on into the neighboring Baokang County
Baokang County
Baokang County is a county of Hubei, China. It is under the administration of Xiangfan city....
(part of Xiangfan
Xiangfan
Xiangyang is a prefecture-level city in Hubei Province of the People's Republic of China. It was formed from two famous ancient cities, Xiangyang and Fancheng...
prefecture-level city).
Due to the mountainous terrain, the district has no rail or water transport. However, construction of Shennongjia Airport
Shennongjia Airport
Shennongjia Airport is an airport currently under construction in Shennongjia, a forestry district in western Hubei Province, China. It is located in the town of Hongping. Construction started in April 2011 with a total investment of over 1 billion yuan...
started in April 2011 with an investment of 1 billion yuan.