Qinling Mountains: China’s National Central Park

Qin was originally the name of a country and an era. More than 2,200 years ago, the Qin people included an entire mountain into their territory. By the Han Dynasty, people named this mountain after "Qin", which is the Qinling Mountains. Today, Shaanxi is referred to as "Qin", but just like the Qin State is not limited to Shaanxi, the Qinling Mountains are not just the Nanshan Mountains in Shaanxi. For a long time, there have been at least three concepts of "Qinling Mountains": one is the Little Qinling Mountains. Huashan Mountain extends eastward into Henan, and the Tongguan and Hangu sections are called the Little Qinling Mountains. The main body of the Xiao Qinling Mountains is within the territory of Lingbao in western Henan. Second, the Central Qinling Mountains. That is, the "Qinling Mountains in the narrow sense" described in the "Qinling Mountains" entry in "Cihai" is a part of the "Qinling Mountains in the broad sense" in Shaanxi, and it is also the core and most exciting part of the Qinling Mountains. Third, the Great Qinling Mountains. Starting from Xiqing Mountain at the junction of Gansu and Qinghai, it meanders eastward, with mountains and peaks upon peaks, all the way to Funiu Mountain in Henan. This is also the "Qinling Mountains in a broad sense" described under the entry "Qinling" in "Cihai". Daqinling is a huge mountain system, about 1,600 kilometers long from west to east and 100-200 kilometers wide from south to north. It can be said that "mountains connect to the sea."

As the "Introduction to the Qinling Series" points out: "There are many famous rivers and mountains in China, but the Qinling Mountains are the most important and unique." As a very important ecosystem in China, the Qinling Mountains are not only reflected in the ecological environment, but also in culture and history. "It is no exaggeration to say that no mountain range has nurtured the process of Chinese civilization like the Qinling Mountains, and no mountain range has nurtured the process of Chinese civilization like the Qinling Mountains. The Qinling Mountains have a profound impact on the process of Chinese civilization. If the Yellow River is compared to the mother river of the Chinese nation, then the Qinling Mountains should be the father mountain of the Chinese nation. "We are truly blessed to have the Qinling Mountains; we have chosen the Qinling Mountains. , we chose a profound and broad cultural advantage, a vast world where we can freely gallop and display our ambitions. ”

Daqinling is China. Backbone, Chinese Dragon Vein, Chinese Father Mountain, Chinese Geographical Indication, Chinese Ecological Vital Gate, a beautiful business card of Chinese culture and Chinese ecology. Daqinling Mountains is not the "back garden" of one province or one place, but the central garden and central park of the Chinese people. In 2005, China National Geographic magazine launched a famous article: Qinling Mountains, the Chinese Central National Park. For the first time, it was clearly stated that Shaanxi people have always had the dream of building a "Qinling National Park". Having such a dream is based on "nine reasons":

Reason 1: Qinling is the central mountain

The reference point of China's national geographical coordinates, that is, The origin of China's land is in Beiliu Village, Yongle Town, Jingyang County, 40 kilometers north of Xi'an. More than 2,000 years ago, a geographical baseline of the Western Han Dynasty that ran north-south and was more than 1,000 kilometers long, crossing the central axis of Chang'an City of the Han Dynasty, also passed through here. Spread out a map of China, and you will definitely find that the mountain closest to the origin of China's land is the magnificent Daqinling Mountains, which runs east-west. In other words, the Qinling Mountains are the central mountains in China’s geography. It can also be said that the Qinling Mountains are the "central mountain" in China's geography. It goes without saying that the Qinling National Park is the "Central Garden" of China's geography, and it is also the "Central Garden" of talent.

Reason 2: Qinling is a mountain of earth veins

Daqinling is an ancient folded and faulted mountain range with complex, special and unique geological structures. , the interior of the mountain is intertwined with ravines, peaks and mountains, the terrain varies greatly, and the conditions fluctuate strongly, forming geological landscapes of various shapes. Qinling Mountains is a field geological museum and a field geological laboratory, enjoying the reputation of "natural geological museum". The Central Orogenic Belt consists of the "five major orogenic belts": West Kunlun Orogenic Belt, East Kunlun Orogenic Belt, West Qinling Orogenic Belt, East Qinling Orogenic Belt and Dabie Mountains Orogenic Belt. It is like a giant dragon spanning "the middle of China", and the Daqinling Mountains are in the "middle of the middle". As early as 2,500 years ago, the "Book of Changes" called Qinling the "Dragon Vein".

Reason 3: Qinling is a mountain of earth energy

Perhaps, precisely because it is located in the "center" of China's geography, the Qinling Mountains are solid and towering The backbone divides the huge China into the south and the north. To the south of the main ridge is the subtropical zone, and to the north of the main ridge is the warm temperate zone. The main ridge of the Qinling Mountains is not only the climate dividing line, but also the watershed between the Yellow River Basin and the Yangtze River Basin. The South Qinling Mountains belong to the Yangtze River Basin, and the North Qinling Mountains belong to the Yellow River Basin. People today believe that forests are the "lungs of the earth." In fact, Qinling Mountains have long been known as "Difei Mountain". Zhongnan Mountain is the core area of ??the North Qinling Mountains. "Historical Records·Xia Benji": "Zhongnan Mountain is also known as Difeishan Mountain." Shangshan Mountain and Kuzong Mountain in Qinling Mountains are also known as "Difeishan Mountain" or "Feishan Mountain" .

Reason 4: Qinling is the mountain of literature and history

In Chinese culture, the aura of the Qinling Mountains is unique and unparalleled in the world. The Qinling Mountains nurtured the Weihe River and Guanzhong, which was the earliest "Land of Abundance" in Chinese history. Most of the myths and stories of the Chinese nation take place in this area. Xi'an is "in the middle of Guanzhong", known as Chang'an in ancient times. Thirteen dynasties established their capitals here in history. The ancient "Silk Road" started from here, connecting Europe and Asia, and connecting the world. The Zhou, Qin, Han, and Tang dynasties were the four major dynasties that determined the direction of Chinese culture. They all laid their foundations and rose to prominence in Guanzhong. The Daqin Mountains nurtured the Luohe and Heluo areas. Luoyang was "among the Heluo" and was known as Luoyang and Yuzhou in ancient times. It was the "Millennium Imperial Capital" that rivaled Chang'an and was also the "Ancient Capital of Thirteen Dynasties". Culturally, Daguanzhong is the "Chinese Dragon Head". Geographically, the Daqin Mountains are the "Dragon Vein of China". Hanzhong is located in the Great Qinling Mountains, thus defining the Han Dynasty, Han Dynasty, Han people, Chinese characters, and Chinese culture. The Danjiangkou area where the Han River and Danjiang River meet is where the "ancestral court" of Chu culture is located. The Jialing River originates from Yuhuang Mountain in the Qinling Mountains, and the Bashu culture in the Jialing River Basin is unique.

Reason 5: Qinling is the sacred mountain

Xi'an and Luoyang were both ancient capitals of thirteen dynasties, where the three religions of "Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism" gathered together , "Heaven, earth, and people" compete with each other for glory, and "mountains, temples, and appearance" complement each other and compete for beauty. Buddhism and Taoism both worship mountains and water, and most of their ancestral palaces are in the Qinling Mountains. Louguantai, Baima Temple, Daci'en Temple, Caotang Temple, Jingye Temple, Xiangji Temple and other Buddhist and Taoist ancestral temples and their branches are densely distributed, making Qinling a famous Buddhist and Taoist mountain. Longmen Mountain and Maiji Mountain are one of the four major Buddhist grottoes in China. Among the "Five Mountains", Huashan Mountain in the west and Songshan Mountain in the middle mountain are both in the Qinling Mountains. "Looking back in Chang'an, there are piles of embroidery, and the front doors on the top of the mountain are opened one after another." The imperial palace is also a beautiful scenery in the Qinling Mountains.

Reason 6: Qinling is the mountain of plank roads

The historical landscape that precedes the Grand Canal is the Great Wall, and the historical landscape that predates the Great Wall is the Qinling Plank Road . The spirit of the Great Wall lies in "encirclement" and "blocking", using the posture of a large wall to prevent outsiders from entering one's "home", while the spirit of the plank road is extension, communication and development, bringing in and going out. Some people define the "Ancient Chinese Plank Road" as the "ninth wonder of the world." The Qinling Plank Road has a history of more than 3,000 years, much earlier than the history of the "Qin Straight Road". Without the Qinling Plank Road, the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasty and the Tang Dynasty would not have existed. The Qinling Plank Road is a huge and dense transportation network and a "highway" in ancient Chinese mountainous areas. "Thousands of miles of plank roads lead to Shuhan." From east to west, the ancient roads in the Qinling Mountains are Wuguan Road (Shangshan Road, Qinchu Road), Ziwu Road, Tangluo Road, Baoxie Road, Chencang Road (old road), and the Lychee Road in Micang Mountain Tao, Mi Cang Tao, Taurus Tao. The long-standing plank road culture and plank road landscape are moving out of the mountains and into the world.

Reason 7: The Qinling Mountains are the source of water.

The Daqin Mountains are a huge green reservoir that continuously provides water to the civilization at the foot of the mountain. The Daqin Mountains gave birth to four famous rivers that have an important influence on Chinese culture. The water of the Qinling Mountains once supported the ancient Chinese capitals: Chang'an and Luoyang, and now it also supports the contemporary Chinese capital: Beijing!

Weihe River, the largest tributary of the Yellow River. Also known as the Yu River, it is the largest tributary of the Yellow River and the mother river of Guanzhong-Tianshui.

"Shangshu" records that Dayu "guided Wei to the mountain where birds and mice share caves". For thousands of years, people believed that Niaoshu Mountain was the source of the Wei River. Some people today also believe that the source of the Wei River lies in Huohuo Mountain, which is not far from Niaoshu Mountain. Both Niaoshu Mountain and Huohuo Mountain originate from the Qinling Mountains and run 818 kilometers east along the northern foot of the Qinling Mountains to Tongguan and into the Yellow River. The north bank receives water from the Loess Plateau, and the south bank receives water from the Qinling Mountains. The Qinling Mountains are the green reservoir in Daguanzhong, nourishing Greater Xi'an, Daguanzhong, and the earliest "Land of Abundance" in Chinese history.

Luohe. It was called Luoshui in ancient times. It originates from the East Qinling Mountains. Its source is Longtangou in Caolian Ridge at the junction of Luonan, Lantian and Huaxian County in Shaanxi Province. It flows 453 kilometers eastward and enters the Yellow River. The north bank of the Luohe River receives water from the southern foothills of Huashan and Weishan Mountains, and the south bank receives water from the northern foothills of Mangling and Xiong'er Mountain. The Luo River is the largest tributary on the south bank of the lower reaches of the Yellow River, the green reservoir and mother river of the Heluo area ("among the world"). Luonan in the upper reaches is to the south of the Luo River, and Luoyang in the lower reaches is to the north of the Luo River. It is known as the "Sacred Capital" of China.

Jialing River. Zhengyuan is located on the south side of Yuhuang Mountain in Nanshan, Baoji. It flows 1,345 kilometers southward through Gansu and Sichuan, and enters the Yangtze River at Chaotianmen in Chongqing. It is the second largest tributary of the Yangtze River. The West Han River is the second source of the Jialing River. It originates from the southern foot of Qishou Mountain in the south of Tianshui, flows 279 kilometers southeast, and enters the Jialing River in Lueyang County.

Hanjiang River, the largest tributary of the Yangtze River. The three sources of the Han River: Yangshui River, Jushui River, and Yudai River all come from the Qinling Mountains. The Han River flows eastward for 1,577 kilometers and enters the Yangtze River at Hankou. It is known as the "Three Thousand Miles of Han River". The Danjiang River is a major tributary of the Han River. It originates from the Phoenix Mountains in the Qinling Mountains of Shangluo, flows 384 kilometers southeast, and enters the Han River at the mouth of the Danjiang River. The water source of the South-to-North Water Diversion Center Project, which draws water from Qinling Lake (Danjiangkou Reservoir), comes from Qinling.

Reason 8: Qinling is the mountain of spirits

The forest is the paradise of creatures, and Qinling is the mountain of spirits, a biological gene bank, and a typical area of ??world biodiversity .

The climate in the Qinling Mountains covers subtropical zone, warm temperate zone, temperate zone, cold temperate zone and subarctic zone. The diverse climate has created a variety of species, ranging from subtropical to cold zone plants. The Southern Qinling Mountains are a subtropical forest vegetation landscape, with deciduous broad-leaf and evergreen mixed forests as the base zone. From bottom to top, there are evergreen, deciduous broad-leaf mixed forests, deciduous broad-leaf forests, and coniferous broad-leaf mixed forests. The North Qinling Mountains have an obvious vertical distribution of warm temperate mountain forest landscape. From low to high, there are four climates: warm temperate zone, temperate zone, cold temperate zone, and subarctic zone. From bottom to top, there are deciduous oak forest belt, birch forest belt, coniferous forest belt, and alpine shrub meadow. bring.

The Qinling Mountains cover less than 1% of the country’s total area. There are 197 families, 1007 genera, and 3446 species of seed plants in Qinling, accounting for 65.23 of the total number of similar families, 33.79 of the total genera, and 14.04 of the total species in the country. Among them, there are 9 families, 23 genera, and 45 species of gymnosperms in the Qinling Mountains, accounting for 81.81, 67.65, and 23.31 of the corresponding categories in the country respectively. There are 3401 species of angiosperms in 188 families and 984 genera in the Qinling Mountains, accounting for 64.60, 33.40 and 13.96 of the corresponding categories in the country respectively. There are 26 kinds of nationally protected rare plants, including Chinese fir, lianxiang tree, mountain white tree, golden maple, single leaf grass, star leaf grass, simmer grass and bottle grass. Taibai Mountain has the richest biodiversity. As the saying goes, "There is no idle grass in Taibai", and "a trip to Taibai Mountain is worth reading half of the "Compendium of Materia Medica"."

Plants are primary production, and animals are secondary production. Diversified plants have created diverse animals. There are 642 species of vertebrates in 82 families in the Qinling Mountains, including 142 species of mammals and 338 species of birds. Among them, there are 80 species of national grade I and II key protected wild animals. Crested ibis, giant panda, takin, golden monkey, leopard, forest musk deer, golden eagle, white-crowned long-tailed pheasant, red-bellied tragopan, blood pheasant, red-bellied golden pheasant and other rare and endangered animals. There are 77 species of amphibians and reptiles, among which the giant salamander is the most representative and the largest tailed amphibian special to China. Crested ibis, giant panda, takin, and golden monkey are known as the "Four Treasures of the Qinling Mountains".

Reason 9: Qinling is a state-owned mountain

Qinling is China’s forest treasure island, with state-owned forest farms, forest parks, nature reserves, and scenery in surrounding provinces. Most scenic spots and geological parks are located in the Qinling Mountains. The state-owned forests in the Qinling Mountains of Shaanxi account for one-quarter of the forests in the Qinling Mountains, the state-owned arbor forests account for one-third of the arbor forests in the Qinling Mountains, and the state-owned forest reserves account for one-half of the forest reserves in the Qinling Mountains. In the core part of the Qinling Mountains, state-owned forest farms are concentrated and contiguous, and nature reserves are distributed in groups, all of which are state-owned mountain forests. Most of the Qinling Mountains are main functional areas with restricted development and prohibited development, and are suitable for the construction of national parks.

Some suggestions: Establish the Qinling National Park system

The forest is a land of green sea, and the Qinling Mountains is a forest treasure island and a green reservoir, containing infinite green treasures . "Shangshu" records: "Zhongnan Dunwu". The timber, fuelwood, food ingredients, medicinal materials, mountain products, minerals, and precious water resources in the Qinling Mountains support the glorious agricultural civilization at the foothills. However, as civilization developed and expanded, it demanded more resources from the forest, which eventually exceeded the forest's regeneration capacity, leading to the reduction of the Qinling forest area and the decline of the Qinling's ecological functions. The trees in the Qinling Mountains have changed from more to fewer, from big to small, and the "Qinling Green" has changed from deep to light. This is like a king falling into a cave and trapped in a dilemma. This is the embarrassment of civilization, the embarrassment of Qinling, and the embarrassment of Shaanxi.

The Qinling Mountains are the true nature of Shaanxi after all, and "Qinling Green" represents "Shaanxi Green". Qinling Mountains benefits Shaanxi the most, and Shaanxi Province also has the deepest feelings for Qinling Mountains. To protect the Qinling Mountains, Shaanxi has the most determined attitude, the fastest action, and the greatest intensity of action. As the 21st century approaches, Shaanxi takes the lead in starting the process of restoring and rebuilding the Qinling Mountains' ecology, and Qinling Mountains protection is at the forefront of other provinces. In 2007, Shaanxi Province formulated local regulations specifically to protect the Qinling Mountains and promulgated and implemented the "Shaanxi Province Qinling Mountains Ecological Environment Protection Regulations". Later, the "Shaanxi Province Handan River Water Source Protection Regulations" was promulgated. Governments at all levels where Qinling is located have established supporting systems and regulations and corresponding organizational structures. "Qinling Green" goes from shallow to deep, just like a king coming out of the cave and returning, with undiminished scenery, elegance and peerless elegance. This laid the foundation for the "construction of Qinling National Park" and enhanced confidence.

The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed: "Build a Beautiful China" and "Establish a National Park System." The central government's "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" proposal proposes: "Integrate and establish a number of national parks." The Shaanxi Provincial Party Committee's "Thirteenth Five-Year Plan" proposal proposes: "Build a beautiful Shaanxi" and "Build the Qinling National Park." Shaanxi's creation of a "new starting point for the Silk Road Economic Belt" and the construction of the Qinling National Park are undoubtedly of great international significance and are bound to attract world attention and win world respect. The construction of the Qinling National Park is based on the establishment of the Qinling National Park system, which means breaking away from the shackles of departmental silos, breaking out of the barriers of local silos, adhering to the system first, giving priority to protection, scientific planning, and comprehensively coordinating the forest resources, Water resources, geological resources, landscape resources, and humanistic resources integrate state-owned forest farms, forest parks, nature reserves, scenic spots, and geological parks, and closely integrate ecological protection, ecological restoration, tourism, and popular science research into the "four-in-one" . On the basis of the "Shaanxi Province Qinling Ecological Environment Protection Regulations", we will speed up the formulation of the "Shaanxi Province Qinling National Park Regulations" to lay a legal foundation for the construction of the "Qinling National Park". The construction of Qinling National Park will write an ecological masterpiece for the construction of beautiful Shaanxi, and will also become the most beautiful and dazzling ecological business card of beautiful Shaanxi.

Like rivers, lakes, and the vast sea, mountains and mountains have protected civilization, nourished civilization, and have also blocked civilization. In the Han Dynasty, someone once lamented that Nanshan was a barrier to the world. Nowadays, the natural chasm has become a thoroughfare. The technology of boat bridges and culverts is advancing rapidly, "railways, buses, and airplanes" are advancing by leaps and bounds, and high-speed transportation has replaced the once busy ancient road system. Especially as ecological products become more and more popular, the ecological value of Qinling Mountains becomes increasingly prominent. Living in a beautiful ecological environment does not require a reason. Now more than ever before, people pay more attention to the Qinling Mountains, get closer to the Qinling Mountains, embrace the Qinling Mountains, and bathe in the Qinling Mountains.

Today, the Qinling Mountains are no longer "the world's great obstacle", but "the world's greatest benefit". We must do something that will "benefit the world" - build the Qinling National Park!