Nature for the Ages

In July， the 40th session of the World Heritage Com- mittee held in Istanbul voted to add Shennongjia of China’s Hubei Province to the prestigious World Heritage List. The committee called Shennongjia one of three centers of biodiversity in China. The site features the most intact natural vertical belts in the world and serves as habitat for many rare species of animals and plants. It is also the origin of many plants that are now popular with gardeners around the world.

Botanical Treasury

Covering an area of 73，318 hectares， Shennongjia Reserve is divided into two sections： the western section from Shennong Peak to Baodong Mountain and the eastern section featuring the Laojun Mountain area. Its buffer zone spread 41，536 hectares. The area boasts the only well-preserved sub-tropical forest ecosystem in the world’s mid-latitudes as well as rich natural forest resources.

Its complicated landforms provide habitats for a great number of rare and endangered species. Dubbed a botanic treasury， Shennongjia is home to 15 national protected animals including the golden monkey and red panda. Some places have hardly been touched by human and remain prehistoric forests.

An important water resource in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River， Shennongjia serves as a large air purifier on the southern bank of the river， conserving water and soil as well as adjusting the climate. Along with its tremendous ecological value， Shennongjia is extremely significant geologically for China and even the world.“Shennongjia’s stratigraphic column is very old， dating back 1 billion to 1.6 billion years ago，” explains Li Xiaochi， a geology expert from the Office for Shennongjia’s Application for World Heritage.“This kind of stratum is very rare in the world， so there is a lack of accurate records about such a layer. The further study of the stratum may help us learn more about the evolution of the earth and China’s landform.”

Scientific Expeditions

Modern scientific expeditions into Shennongjia began in the early 1940s.

In 1939， Jia Wenzhi， a local official in Shennongjia region， learned about some Japanese mining activities in Shennongjia and that Ernest Wilson， a renowned American botanist， had begun gathering plants in the area. Because Jia worried foreigners would steal China’s resources， he decided to conduct his own research of Shennongjia， the first of its kind in history. From 1941 to 1943， Jia sent three groups of explorers into Shennongjia. After extensive field work， they published a 36，000-word report that documented the basic specifications of Shennongjia.

Shennongjia was said to be the last refuge of wild man. Therefore， most scientific expeditions made in the area focused on the hunt for one during the 1970s. In 1977， the largest scientific survey of Shennongjia was conducted by a team comprising more than 150 members， including experts， scholars， local officials and experienced hunters.

“Early expeditions were just for looking for aboriginals，” recalled Tang Zhaozi（1948-2014）， an animal specimen researcher. In the period just after the “cultural revolution，” science regained popularity across the country. The team was militarily managed with each member armed with a semi-automatic gun and determined to witness wild men. The expedition had a duty to return with a proud discovery for the country and the world.

But after six months， no trace of human activity could be found. Some continued to look for jungle people， but others began to investigate Shennongjia’s flora and fauna resources instead. In 1980， a joint team of Chinese and American experts conducted a scientific expedition to Shennongjia， where they created 37 inspection stations， and later came up with Report on Shennongjia’s Plants.

Scientific exploration of Shennongjia has never stopped since. In 2012， a large expedition aimed to investigate the root resources of the area began. The program took three years to plan and another three to complete， but the time paid off when the ample recorded statistics pushed Shennongjia’s application for world heritage over the top.

Development and Protection

Shennongjia’s designation as world heritage will pave the way to more tourists. Today， annual tourists volume is about 700，000 people. Ecologists estimate Shennongjia’s full load at about 798，000 people. So Ai Yingjie， vice president of Shennongjia forest zone， declared the scenic spot would limit tourists to 798，000 to protect the natural heritage.

This May， Shennongjia became a pilot national park. A national park is designated for conservation purposes. In 1872， Yellowstone National Park was established as the first national park in the U.S.， as well as the world’s first. Pilot Shennongjia National Park is 1，170 square kilometers， accounting for about 36 percent of the total area of Shennongjia. The vast tract of land des- ignated as the pilot Shennongjia National Park is protected by helicopters， watch towers， surveillance cameras and patrols.

Shennongjia has long been administered by four different departments， respectively in charge of housing， tourism， land management and water conservancy which was felt to hamper administrative efficiency. According to Shu Boyang， vice president of Wuhan Branch of China Tourism Academy， the national park management system should consolidate power and resources to improve work efficiency and attain greater focus on ecological protection and public service.

“Domestic national park pilot programs must walk a tightrope to balance interests of both environmental protection and public service，” Shu adds. He believes that a national park should prioritize protection over revenues. At the same time， a national park should be an institution of public good that provides service to tourists.