Guniujiang is praised as "the last primeval forest in East China". Its main peak has an altitude of 1,727.6 meters and is one of the three high mountains in southern Anhui. It is the main body of the westward extension of the Huangshan Mountain Range and was called "West Huangshan" in ancient times. The scenic area features magnificent and beautiful mountain valleys, primitive and lush ancient trees and strange pines, water wonders combining movement and stillness, dreamlike and fantastical celestial spectacles, as well as traditional ancient villages with a profound history. It is rich in tangible tourism resources.
Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once described it as follows: "Beyond thousands of miles at the ends of the earth where travelers roam, everywhere in Guniujiang is accessible." Feng Menglong, a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty, praised it by saying, "In Guniujiang of Chizhou, three volumes of imperial books are hidden." Wu Yingji recorded in "Records of Hengshan Source" that "With its grotesque peaks rising one after another, blocking the sun and covering the clouds, compared with Jiuhua Mountain, it is especially outstanding in its unique beauty."
The uncanny workmanship of nature has carved out the strange rocks on the mountain peaks and the wonders of gorges such as Dayankeng, Xiaoyankeng and Baizhangya. In the scenic area, there are groups of ancient trees that are thousands of years old. The ancient camphor trees and ancient ginkgo trees look gnarled and vigorous. On the mountain peaks, there are Guest-Greeting Pines, Twin Pines and Phoenix Pines adding to the charm. The Guniujiang River system is well-developed and is one of the sources of the Qiupu River, which is known as "the most beautiful hometown river in China" and "the river of poetry". Winding down from the gorges, one can enjoy water landscapes such as the Gathering of Immortals, the Four-Fold Waterfall and the Longmen Pool along the way, which are truly astonishing. The weather in Guniujiang is changeable, and the sea of clouds, sunrise and Buddha's light form magnificent scenes.
Guniujiang is a national nature reserve and a national 4A-level tourist scenic area. There are traditional Chinese villages and the "Red Army Slogan Wall" related to Fang Zhimin's leading the Red Army northward to resist the Japanese aggression in the scenic area. Provincial intangible cultural heritages such as Mulian Opera, Shifan Gongs and Drums, Shitai Folk Songs and Shitai Singing originated here. Many celebrities have emerged here, including Du Xunhe, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, Bi Qiang, the Minister of Four Departments in the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhizhen, a dramatist in the Ming Dynasty, Wu Yingji, a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty, Li Cheng, a master of traditional Chinese culture in modern times, and Li Gensheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. There are the former residence of Wu Yingji, the reading pavilion in his youth, the stele carving of the manuscript of "Observing Troops at Niwan", and the drill ground where Wu Yingji organized resistance against the Qing soldiers. Historical celebrities like Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, and Feng Menglong, a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty also left a large number of poems, calligraphy and historical relics scattered all over the place.
The Guniujiang Scenic Area is the first national nature reserve in Anhui Province mainly focusing on forest ecological types and wild animal types. It is praised as the "gene pool of animals and plants in East China" and is a protected area for the mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest ecosystem and wild animals and plants resources. Its scientific value is of worldwide significance. Scientific research achievements such as "A Collection of Scientific Expeditions in Guniujiang", "Biodiversity of Anhui Guniujiang National Nature Reserve", "An Atlas of Birds in Anhui Guniujiang National Nature Reserve" and "An Atlas of Butterflies in Anhui Guniujiang National Nature Reserve" have been formed.
Shitai County is one of the three largest selenium-rich areas in China and has been awarded the title of "China's Ecological Selenium Capital". Guniujiang is located in the core area of selenium-rich land and is rich in selenium-rich green food. There are 1,555 species of plants in Guniujiang, including 18 national rare and endangered species. There are 1,296 species of animals, including 6 species of national first-class key protected wild animals and 30 species of national second-class key protected wild animals. It is praised as a "green natural museum".
The forest coverage rate in the scenic area reaches over 97%, and the average value of negative oxygen ions is 71,438 per cubic centimeter, which is 35 times the standard for fresh air defined by the World Health Organization. In 2016, it won the title of "China's Natural Oxygen Bar" among the first batch in the country, and in 2023, it was again awarded the title of "China's Natural Oxygen Bar".
The Guniujiang tourist resources are complete in variety and rich in types. There are 260 individual tourist resources, covering 8 main categories, 17 sub-categories and 47 basic types. There are many high-quality tourist resources, including 11 fifth-grade landscape tourist resources and 36 fourth-grade landscape tourist resources, meeting the evaluation requirements of 5A-level scenic areas. The five-episode documentary series "Tracing Tigers and Leopards in Guniujiang" was broadcast on the "Searching the World" column of CCTV-7, receiving a strong response. The VCD disc "The Brilliant Green Pearl" was published and distributed, and the self-produced "Wild Guniujiang" was selected as one of the top ten documentaries in Anhui Province.
The county Party committee and the county government attach great importance to the protection of the natural resources, cultural relics and historical sites in Guniujiang. They have implemented multi-level and all-round protection measures, with a cumulative investment of billions of yuan, continuously strengthening the protection of the resources and environment in the scenic area. Meanwhile, adhering to the principle of combining special protection and hierarchical protection, they have strengthened environmental protection, focused on the protection of cultural relics and attached importance to cultural inheritance. Every year, the government allocates special funds and the scenic area sets aside a certain proportion of ticket revenues to invest in the protection of natural resources and cultural and historical sites, greatly protecting the integrity of the resources in the tourist area.
In cooperation with universities and research institutes, 2,400 copies of monographs such as "Butterflies in Guniujiang" and "Biodiversity and Protection Strategies of Anhui Guniujiang National Nature Reserve" have been published. More than 30 papers have been published in magazines such as "Wildlife", "Anhui Forestry Science and Technology", "Journal of Anhui Normal University", "Journal of Anhui Agricultural University" and "Green Tide", playing the role of the "gene pool" of animals and plants.
Over the years, the popularity of the scenic area has been continuously rising. Party and state leaders such as Wang Yang, Gu Xiulian and Chen Jinhua have visited and guided in Guniujiang in person. Ambassadors of more than 30 countries including the UK, the US, France and Germany have visited the scenic area for inspection and jointly awarded the title of "The Most Beautiful Original Ecological Mountainous Hometown in China". Mr. Gray, the honorary president of the International Selenium Society and the chief scientist of the US Department of Agriculture, visited Guniujiang four times for inspection and research from 2014 to 2019 and promoted it globally at the Third International Conference on Selenium and Human Health held in Brazil. Prominent figures such as Zhao Puchu and Fei Xiaotong, as well as well-known experts such as Hou Xueyu, Zhu Qingshi and Zhao Qiguo, academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Li Gensheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, have visited and investigated in Guniujiang. Li Ge, vice president of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and president of the China Photographers Association, has visited Guniujiang many times for photography. Guniujiang is also the shooting location for film and television works such as "Snowy and Blood-red" and "The Flag Reflects on Guniujiang". Mainstream media such as People's Daily Online, Xinhuanet and CCTV.com have made special reports on the scenic area many times.
Through investigations, the scenic area has received universal praise from more than 99% of tourists and professionals. Well-known website platforms such as Ctrip, Qunar and Lvmama have given extremely high evaluations to the scenic area. The scenic area has successively won honors such as being a national nature reserve, a national 4A-level tourist scenic area, the China Youth Scientific Exploration and Investigation Base, the Labor Practice and Education Base in East China, the "Forest Tourism Demonstration Scenic Area" in Anhui Province, the first batch of "Summer Resort Tourism and Leisure Destinations", the "Top Ten Reputation and Praiseworthy Tourist Scenic Areas" by Tongcheng Tourism and "The Most Popular Self-driving Tour Destination for Tourists in the Yangtze River Delta".
The Guniujiang Scenic Area is favored by tourists from all over the world for its superior geographical location, convenient transportation, beautiful natural landscapes, rich cultural relics and historical sites, and profound historical and cultural connotations. Guniujiang has convenient transportation, adjacent to Jiuhua Mountain Airport, Anqing Airport, the Yangtze River cruise ship terminal, the Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway, the Nanjing-Yiwu Intercity Railway, the Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway, the Dezhou-Shangrao Expressway and National Highway 318. The tourist source market covers the whole country and also attracts international tourists from Japan, South Korea and Europe and the United States every year. In 2019, the scenic area received a total of more than 1.533 million tourists, among which the proportion of out-of-province tourists was 44.5% and that of overseas tourists was 10.1%.
The main features of the Guniujiang Scenic Area are distinct, with outstanding advantages, originality and uniqueness. In recent years, closely combining market demands and its own resource advantages, we have held the Tea Culture Festival for 20 consecutive years. Centering on themes such as "Sports and Health Preservation, Selenium Tourism in Shitai", "Primitive Guniujiang, a Fairyland on Earth", "Beautiful Anhui Landscapes, Charming Shitai" and "Ecological Guniujiang, a Natural Oxygen Bar", we have successively held various promotional activities such as the Yangtze River Delta Health and Wellness Tourism Carnival, the First Anhui Province "Beautiful Anhui Landscapes" Cycling Race (Shitai Station) and the First China Shitai Road Cycling Open Championship, the Selenium-rich Industry Development Conference, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Tourism Festival, the Mountain Climbing Festival and the Guniujiang Photography Contest, continuously expanding the popularity and influence of the scenic area as a sports, leisure and health preservation tourist destination in the Yangtze River Delta. (As of June 28, 2023)
Guniujiang is praised as "the last primeval forest in East China". Its main peak has an altitude of 1,727.6 meters and is one of the three high mountains in southern Anhui. It is the main body of the westward extension of the Huangshan Mountain Range and was called "West Huangshan" in ancient times. The scenic area features magnificent and beautiful mountain valleys, primitive and lush ancient trees and strange pines, water wonders combining movement and stillness, dreamlike and fantastical celestial spectacles, as well as traditional ancient villages with a profound history. It is rich in tangible tourism resources.
Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, once described it as follows: "Beyond thousands of miles at the ends of the earth where travelers roam, everywhere in Guniujiang is accessible." Feng Menglong, a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty, praised it by saying, "In Guniujiang of Chizhou, three volumes of imperial books are hidden." Wu Yingji recorded in "Records of Hengshan Source" that "With its grotesque peaks rising one after another, blocking the sun and covering the clouds, compared with Jiuhua Mountain, it is especially outstanding in its unique beauty."
The uncanny workmanship of nature has carved out the strange rocks on the mountain peaks and the wonders of gorges such as Dayankeng, Xiaoyankeng and Baizhangya. In the scenic area, there are groups of ancient trees that are thousands of years old. The ancient camphor trees and ancient ginkgo trees look gnarled and vigorous. On the mountain peaks, there are Guest-Greeting Pines, Twin Pines and Phoenix Pines adding to the charm. The Guniujiang River system is well-developed and is one of the sources of the Qiupu River, which is known as "the most beautiful hometown river in China" and "the river of poetry". Winding down from the gorges, one can enjoy water landscapes such as the Gathering of Immortals, the Four-Fold Waterfall and the Longmen Pool along the way, which are truly astonishing. The weather in Guniujiang is changeable, and the sea of clouds, sunrise and Buddha's light form magnificent scenes.
Guniujiang is a national nature reserve and a national 4A-level tourist scenic area. There are traditional Chinese villages and the "Red Army Slogan Wall" related to Fang Zhimin's leading the Red Army northward to resist the Japanese aggression in the scenic area. Provincial intangible cultural heritages such as Mulian Opera, Shifan Gongs and Drums, Shitai Folk Songs and Shitai Singing originated here. Many celebrities have emerged here, including Du Xunhe, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, Bi Qiang, the Minister of Four Departments in the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Zhizhen, a dramatist in the Ming Dynasty, Wu Yingji, a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty, Li Cheng, a master of traditional Chinese culture in modern times, and Li Gensheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering. There are the former residence of Wu Yingji, the reading pavilion in his youth, the stele carving of the manuscript of "Observing Troops at Niwan", and the drill ground where Wu Yingji organized resistance against the Qing soldiers. Historical celebrities like Li Bai, a poet in the Tang Dynasty, and Feng Menglong, a litterateur in the Ming Dynasty also left a large number of poems, calligraphy and historical relics scattered all over the place.
The Guniujiang Scenic Area is the first national nature reserve in Anhui Province mainly focusing on forest ecological types and wild animal types. It is praised as the "gene pool of animals and plants in East China" and is a protected area for the mid-subtropical evergreen broad-leaved forest ecosystem and wild animals and plants resources. Its scientific value is of worldwide significance. Scientific research achievements such as "A Collection of Scientific Expeditions in Guniujiang", "Biodiversity of Anhui Guniujiang National Nature Reserve", "An Atlas of Birds in Anhui Guniujiang National Nature Reserve" and "An Atlas of Butterflies in Anhui Guniujiang National Nature Reserve" have been formed.
Shitai County is one of the three largest selenium-rich areas in China and has been awarded the title of "China's Ecological Selenium Capital". Guniujiang is located in the core area of selenium-rich land and is rich in selenium-rich green food. There are 1,555 species of plants in Guniujiang, including 18 national rare and endangered species. There are 1,296 species of animals, including 6 species of national first-class key protected wild animals and 30 species of national second-class key protected wild animals. It is praised as a "green natural museum".
The forest coverage rate in the scenic area reaches over 97%, and the average value of negative oxygen ions is 71,438 per cubic centimeter, which is 35 times the standard for fresh air defined by the World Health Organization. In 2016, it won the title of "China's Natural Oxygen Bar" among the first batch in the country, and in 2023, it was again awarded the title of "China's Natural Oxygen Bar".
The Guniujiang tourist resources are complete in variety and rich in types. There are 260 individual tourist resources, covering 8 main categories, 17 sub-categories and 47 basic types. There are many high-quality tourist resources, including 11 fifth-grade landscape tourist resources and 36 fourth-grade landscape tourist resources, meeting the evaluation requirements of 5A-level scenic areas. The five-episode documentary series "Tracing Tigers and Leopards in Guniujiang" was broadcast on the "Searching the World" column of CCTV-7, receiving a strong response. The VCD disc "The Brilliant Green Pearl" was published and distributed, and the self-produced "Wild Guniujiang" was selected as one of the top ten documentaries in Anhui Province.
The county Party committee and the county government attach great importance to the protection of the natural resources, cultural relics and historical sites in Guniujiang. They have implemented multi-level and all-round protection measures, with a cumulative investment of billions of yuan, continuously strengthening the protection of the resources and environment in the scenic area. Meanwhile, adhering to the principle of combining special protection and hierarchical protection, they have strengthened environmental protection, focused on the protection of cultural relics and attached importance to cultural inheritance. Every year, the government allocates special funds and the scenic area sets aside a certain proportion of ticket revenues to invest in the protection of natural resources and cultural and historical sites, greatly protecting the integrity of the resources in the tourist area.
In cooperation with universities and research institutes, 2,400 copies of monographs such as "Butterflies in Guniujiang" and "Biodiversity and Protection Strategies of Anhui Guniujiang National Nature Reserve" have been published. More than 30 papers have been published in magazines such as "Wildlife", "Anhui Forestry Science and Technology", "Journal of Anhui Normal University", "Journal of Anhui Agricultural University" and "Green Tide", playing the role of the "gene pool" of animals and plants.
Over the years, the popularity of the scenic area has been continuously rising. Party and state leaders such as Wang Yang, Gu Xiulian and Chen Jinhua have visited and guided in Guniujiang in person. Ambassadors of more than 30 countries including the UK, the US, France and Germany have visited the scenic area for inspection and jointly awarded the title of "The Most Beautiful Original Ecological Mountainous Hometown in China". Mr. Gray, the honorary president of the International Selenium Society and the chief scientist of the US Department of Agriculture, visited Guniujiang four times for inspection and research from 2014 to 2019 and promoted it globally at the Third International Conference on Selenium and Human Health held in Brazil. Prominent figures such as Zhao Puchu and Fei Xiaotong, as well as well-known experts such as Hou Xueyu, Zhu Qingshi and Zhao Qiguo, academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, and Li Gensheng, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, have visited and investigated in Guniujiang. Li Ge, vice president of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and president of the China Photographers Association, has visited Guniujiang many times for photography. Guniujiang is also the shooting location for film and television works such as "Snowy and Blood-red" and "The Flag Reflects on Guniujiang". Mainstream media such as People's Daily Online, Xinhuanet and CCTV.com have made special reports on the scenic area many times.
Through investigations, the scenic area has received universal praise from more than 99% of tourists and professionals. Well-known website platforms such as Ctrip, Qunar and Lvmama have given extremely high evaluations to the scenic area. The scenic area has successively won honors such as being a national nature reserve, a national 4A-level tourist scenic area, the China Youth Scientific Exploration and Investigation Base, the Labor Practice and Education Base in East China, the "Forest Tourism Demonstration Scenic Area" in Anhui Province, the first batch of "Summer Resort Tourism and Leisure Destinations", the "Top Ten Reputation and Praiseworthy Tourist Scenic Areas" by Tongcheng Tourism and "The Most Popular Self-driving Tour Destination for Tourists in the Yangtze River Delta".
The Guniujiang Scenic Area is favored by tourists from all over the world for its superior geographical location, convenient transportation, beautiful natural landscapes, rich cultural relics and historical sites, and profound historical and cultural connotations. Guniujiang has convenient transportation, adjacent to Jiuhua Mountain Airport, Anqing Airport, the Yangtze River cruise ship terminal, the Hefei-Anqing High-Speed Railway, the Nanjing-Yiwu Intercity Railway, the Shanghai-Chongqing Expressway, the Dezhou-Shangrao Expressway and National Highway 318. The tourist source market covers the whole country and also attracts international tourists from Japan, South Korea and Europe and the United States every year. In 2019, the scenic area received a total of more than 1.533 million tourists, among which the proportion of out-of-province tourists was 44.5% and that of overseas tourists was 10.1%.
The main features of the Guniujiang Scenic Area are distinct, with outstanding advantages, originality and uniqueness. In recent years, closely combining market demands and its own resource advantages, we have held the Tea Culture Festival for 20 consecutive years. Centering on themes such as "Sports and Health Preservation, Selenium Tourism in Shitai", "Primitive Guniujiang, a Fairyland on Earth", "Beautiful Anhui Landscapes, Charming Shitai" and "Ecological Guniujiang, a Natural Oxygen Bar", we have successively held various promotional activities such as the Yangtze River Delta Health and Wellness Tourism Carnival, the First Anhui Province "Beautiful Anhui Landscapes" Cycling Race (Shitai Station) and the First China Shitai Road Cycling Open Championship, the Selenium-rich Industry Development Conference, the Intangible Cultural Heritage Tourism Festival, the Mountain Climbing Festival and the Guniujiang Photography Contest, continuously expanding the popularity and influence of the scenic area as a sports, leisure and health preservation tourist destination in the Yangtze River Delta. (As of June 28, 2023)
