行攝大九湖(李樹國攝)Hiking around Dajiu Lake(Photo by LiShuguo)

S hennongjia,situated in the western border of Hubei Province,is adjacent to Jing (Jingzhou)and Xiang (Hunan Province)in the east and close to Sichuan Province in the west,with the Three Gorges to its north and the Wudang Mountains in its south.It lies at the eastern end of the Qinling and Daba mountain ranges neighboring the Wuling Mountains and the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River.Shennongjia is China’s only provincial-level administrative district officially named a“Forestry District,”with a total area of 3,253 square kilometers.With a forest coverage rate amounting to 91.1%,it is abundant in natural resources and known as“the gene pool of species on the earth”and“the heaven of all living creatures.”

Shennongjia has a primeval forest that is preserved well in the middle-latitude area.It is home to many rare animals such as the Golden Monkey and albino animals(white bear,white deer,white monkey,white tiger,white snake,white water deer,etc.),which are scarcely seen in other regions.In addition,dove trees and firs grow here,which are both known as living fossils.

According to Zhu Zhaoquan, deputy director of the Hubei Wildlife Conservation Station,Shennongjia has been given a priority to be protected by the Ministry of Environmental Protection among the 32 biological diversity regions because of its biological diversity.For a long time,tourists from home and abroad have been so fascinated by Shennongjia’s unique mystique that they don’t ever want to leave.

In July of 2016,Shennongjia was listed as a World Heritage Site at the 40thWorld Heritage Committee held in Istanbul of Turkey,becoming Hubei’s 1stand China’s 11thworld natural heritage.Moreover, it has since become the first heritage site in China that is simultaneously listed by UNESCO’s Man and Biosphere Program (MAB),World Geopark,and World Heritage.

神農(nóng)架之地

神農(nóng)架位于中國中部的湖北省西部邊陲，東瞰荊襄，西望巴蜀，南通三峽，北倚武當(dāng)，雄踞秦巴山脈東端，與武陵山脈相鄰，共扼長江三峽，是我國唯一以“林區(qū)”命名的省轄行政區(qū)，總面積3253平方公里。神農(nóng)架森林覆蓋率超91.1%，景觀資源豐富，享有“地球物種基因庫”、“生物樂園”之美譽(yù)。

這里擁有全球中緯度地區(qū)保存最完好的原始森林，國家一級保護(hù)動物金絲猴等珍稀動物以神農(nóng)架為家，其他地區(qū)所罕見的白化動物（白熊、白鹿、白猴、白虎、白蛇、白獐等）也在神農(nóng)架頻現(xiàn)，“植物活化石”珙桐、冷杉等扎根于神農(nóng)架山間。

據(jù)湖北省野生動植物保護(hù)總站副站長朱兆泉介紹，正是由于當(dāng)?shù)赝怀龅纳锒鄻有?，神農(nóng)架被中國環(huán)境保護(hù)部列為全國32個(gè)生物多樣性保護(hù)優(yōu)先區(qū)域之一。長期以來，神農(nóng)架以其獨(dú)一無二的神秘氣質(zhì)，令海內(nèi)外無數(shù)游客心往神馳、流連忘返。

2016年7月，在土耳其伊斯坦布爾舉行的第40屆世界遺產(chǎn)大會上，中國湖北神農(nóng)架被列入世界遺產(chǎn)名錄，成為湖北省第一處、中國第十一處世界自然遺產(chǎn)。自此，神農(nóng)架成為中國首個(gè)獲得聯(lián)合國教科文組織“人與生物圈自然保護(hù)區(qū)、世界地質(zhì)公園、世界遺產(chǎn)”三大保護(hù)制度共同錄入的“三冠王”名錄遺產(chǎn)地。

茶園秋景（霍國軍攝）An autumn view in a tea field(Photo by Huo Guojun)