4.1 Natural Landscape
Glacial erosion and flowing water dissection have exercised strong influences on transforming and overlapping fault block mountains of Lushan, giving rise to steep and precipitous glacial knife-edged crest, horn, narrow gorges that are deep, remote and stand upright, forming on the glacial staircases grand sights of torrential streams and splashing waterfalls as described in two verses of the Tang Dynasty:
Its torrent dashes down three thousand feet from high,
As if the Silver River fell from the blue sky.
Natural conditions of Lushan abutting on the lake and facing the river, being endowed with high mountains and steep slopes, have created special climatic features of often having rainy and snowy days, broken skies and fogs. With clouds and mists coiling up, Buddha’s halo and mirage sight coming about now and then in the wake of haze, rain, snow and rime, the following two verses would naturally come to visitors’ lips:
The true face of Lushan is lost to my sight,
For it is right in this mountain that I reside.
Unusual mountain peaks and enchantingly beautiful lake and river waters, together with biological diversity, form a bright and colorful scenery, adding radiance and beauty to each other and making up a picture scroll of natural mountain-and-water landscapes paintings that are magnificent, picturesque unique, precipitous and beautiful.
4.1.1 Steep Cliffs and Peaks Landscape
Tian Pai Shan Horst-Fault Cliff
Wo Lao Peak Horst-Fault Cliff
Xia Shuan Jian Peak
Five Ru Peak
Jin Lun Peak
Wu Xiao Peak
Han Yang Peak
Iron Boat Peak
4.1.2 Gorge Landscape
Fan Gan Yuan Valley
Shi Men Jian Valley
4.1.3 Springs, Waterfalls, Lakes and Ponds Landscape
San Die Quan Waterfall
Xiu Feng Waterfall
Shi Men Jian Waterfall
Rainbow Waterfall
Yu Lian Quan Waterfall
Wo Long Gang Waterfall
Tian Men Pond
Yu Yuan Pond
Qing Long Pond
Ru Qin Lake
Gu Lian Spring
4.1.4 Marvelous Meteorological Landscape
Colorful Waterfall Clouds at Xiao Tian Chi (Small Heavenly Pond)
Jade Belt Clouds at Han Yang Peak
Riotous Clouds
Lushan Clouds Sea
Buddha’s Halo
Buddha’s Halo at Nuona Pagoda
Buddha’s Halo at Lushan
Mysterious Mirage
Glistening Mystical Lantern
Meteorological Wonders
4.1.5 Colorful Four Seasons Landscape
Snow-covered Landscape at Xiao Tian Chi
Snow and Rime at Wu Lao Peak
Snow-covered Landscape at North Gate
Foggy Rime
Kuling Town, a Mountain City Hidden amid the Clouds
Beauty Scenery at Flower Path
4.1.6 Plant and Animal Resources in Lushan
4.1.6.1 The forest rate of coverage in Lushan area comes to 80.73%, which facilitates this area to form a natural botanical garden. Preserved in this geopark are various kinds of endangered rare and precious plants of 44 families, 57 genera, and 97 species, of which 3 species are put under the 1st class protection and 17 species under the 2nd class protection on a national level, 68 species of plants growing here are included in Red Directory of Species in China, 49 species of plants such as mountain flowers -- Daphne odora, Lushan cottonrose, Chinese Guling magnolia, etc. are named after “ Lushan” or “Kuling”. Lushan also abounds in varieties of ancient and famous trees, with more than 1,210 trees having tree ages of over 300 years, of which 51 trees are in excess of 1,000 years.
4.1.6.2 Lushan Botanic Garden is considered an important component part of integral strategy in protecting flora resources in China and an important base for research into diversified flora having been removed and under protective nursing here and for sustainable use of flora resources and popular science education, as well. This botanical garden has already established plant seed exchanging relations with nearly 300 institutes from over 60 countries in the world, having ushered in and naturalized 1 479 species of flora and gathered together over 3 400 species both from home and abroad.
4.1.6.3 In Lushan there are over 120 species of wild rare animals, of which 88 species are now under national key protection and 75 species are put under provincial key protection. Over 170 species of migratory birds and one of the largest white crane flock are now inhabiting in the Poyang Lake Migratory Bird Natural Reserve each year, and their habitat is praised “The Second Great Wall in China”. Every year approximately 0.80 to 1.00 million migratory birds fly here to live through the winter. According to statistics, only on the day of the 5th of January of 1986 alone, the arrival of white storks (Grus leucogeranus ) reached 1 784. At present, the number of white storks having flown here to spend winter every year takes up 97% of the total number of the white storks in the world
4.2 Cultural Sacred Mountain
4.2.1 Cultural Landscapes
One of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization, Lushan has been considered a sacred cultural mountain, having integrated the subjects of geology, geography, meteorology, biology, literature, historyiography, architecture, science of religion, etc. for over one thousand years. Lushan had already begun to be recorded in Historical Records written by Si Ma Qian in 126 B.C. In 387 A.D. a monk called Hui Yuan established Dong Lin Temple at Lushan, advocating belief in “Pure Land”; in 461, Mr Lu Xiu Jing compiled at Lushan the earliest catalogues of the Taoist patrology in China; White Deer Cave Academy, established in the Southern Tang Dynasty(916-961), was known as one of the four Ancient academies in China; The School Regulations for White Deer Cave Academy, made by Mr Zhu Xi, were criteria and specifications for Chinese education under feudal dictatorial system; in history, over 3 500 noted writers, philosophers, scientists and men of letters came touring at Lushan, leaving behind more than 16, 000 poems that have been widely quoted and deeply loved by people, along with nearly one thousand academic papers, travel notes, picture scrolls and over 900 or so calligraphic works engraved on cliffs.
4.2.2 Poems and Paintings
Lushan is considered happens to be not only one of the important sourcelands of mountain- and-water culture in China, but also the birthplace of the Chinese pastoral lyrical poetry initiated by Mr Tao Yuanming in ancient times. The style of pastoral lyrical poetry taking Lushan for its background and created for the first time by Tao Yuanming, influenced the Chinese poetic circles as a whole. Ascending the Summit of Lushan to View Zhuqiao written by the poet Mr. Xie Lingyun of the Eastern Jin Dynasty(317-402) and Stone Gate as Viewed from Afar by the poet Mr. Bao Zhao of the Southern Dynasties(420-479), etc. have proved to be the earliest poems chanting the beautiful mountain-and-water scenery in China; the poem The Waterfall in Lushan as Viewed from Afar written by Mr. Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty(618-907) has always been recited by the people for ages with the waterfall in Lushan as its background; the poem To the Xilin Wall written by Mr.Su Shi of the Song Dynasty(960-1127) has proved to have a far-reaching influence in this country; in China, Mr. Gu Kaizhi of the Eastern Jin Dynasty(317-402) was the first artist who began to draw mountain-and-water scenery as the theme of paintings, and great masters of painting of the past dynasties in China have taken Lushan as their vehicle ever since.
4.2.3 Six Religions within One Mountain International Park
“ Lushan is proud of having six religions popular in one area and nowhere in the world can we find any one as such.” Lushan area, where local people have been entitled to have their choice of religions like Buddhism, Taoism, Christianity, Catholicism, Orthodox Eastern Church, Islam, is China’s sacred land of religion. In history, there were 360 Buddhist temples and over 200 Taoist temples in Lushan. Lushan has been considered the religious centre in Southern China. Up to the present, there have still existed temples or churches of five religions of Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, Christianity and Catholicism in this area.
Since Beginning from 1885 when a British preacher called Mr. Edward Selby Little signed an agreement to rent Changchong river at Guling for summer resort, till 1930’s, more than 20 or so countries of the world had come here to build villas which have already been closely to one thousand buildings at Guling, thus turning Lushan into a “International Village”, a “Place God Blesses”, hence “All Nations’ Park”. Now, more than 1 000 buildings of mountain villas are still kept retained in the Lushan area, boasting different styles of their own and coming from UK, USA, France, Russia, Sweden, Italy, Finland, Portugal, Australia, etc., with a total floor area accounting for 500, 000 m2.