Mountain park hits the highs for environmental protection

Visitors watch a sunrise in the Wuyi Mountain National Park in November last year. [Jiang Kehong/Xinhua]

Culture and history

Wuyi Mountain, which forms one of the main sections of the park, played a key role in the development of Confucianism and Taoism in China, and is part of the history of tea production and appreciation.

It is also home to many stone inscriptions that have a history going back thousands of years.

According to an introduction on the park's official website, the Yue people, a tribe that lived in southern China in ancient times, started hunting and fishing at Wuyi Mountain during the Neolithic Period, roughly 5,000 to 2,000 years ago.

The mountain is also famous for ancient funeral practices, such as the boat-roof shaped coffins that hang from cliffs in some undisturbed areas and have a history of more than 3,000 years.

In ancient times, the mountain's unique landscape and environment attracted many poets, philosophers, generals and prominent imperial officials. It was also one of China's great centers of Taoism and Buddhism.

Zhu Xi, a Song Dynasty calligrapher, philosopher and politician, made a great contribution to Neo-Confucian thought. When he died, at age 71, Zhu had spent more than 40 years at Wuyi Mountain and in the northern part of Fujian.

He wrote many poems praising the mountain's views and landscapes, and lectured to hundreds of students and scholars during his time in the area, which has about 10 stone inscriptions bearing his writings and poems.

There are 35 academy relics in the park, and more than 450 cliff and stone inscriptions. It is also home to 60-plus ancient Taoist temples and royal pavilions whose histories date to the Qin (BC 221-BC 206), Han (BC 206-220) and Song dynasties.