Tianmu Mountains National park

Resting at a sweep of mountain country 94 kilometers away from Hangzhou, the well-known scenic city as well as the capital city of Zhejiang Province, east central China, Tianmu Mountains National Park is renowned for its great abundance of ancient gigan­tic and valuable trees as well as for its stunning natural beauty.

Rolling mountains, mild climate, sufficient rainfall and fertile soil support a wide expanse of primeval forests that contain a huge and healthy population of plant life, and deserve the honorable title "a country of ancient trees". The name of the park derived from the two big lakes resembling two eyes of the sky atop the two peaks that separately stand in the east and the west of the park.

The park encompasses prime stands of old growth. Sauntering up along the stony trail that leads up to the high points, massive and huge towering trees line both sides of the quiet trail and reach for the clouds. Forests, lush and green, blanket all the mountains, making a picture of green waves in an ocean.

At the scenic spot called the Seven-Miles Pavilion, at the eleva­tion of 1,100 meters, lies the so called A Kingdom of The Gigantic Trees, where you can spot the largest concentration of Chinese ce­dar (Cryptomeria fortunei), one of the ancient giants of hundreds to more than 1,500 years old. The stout trees with sky-stabbing crowns commonly top out at 30 meters and attain a diameter of one meter, the highest soaring 40 -45 meters and having breast diameters up to over 1 meter to over 2 meters. Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dy­nasty had visited the largest Chinese cedar here twice in 1751 and 1784 and gave it the honorable title "Monarch of Gigantic Trees".

Golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) probably is the tallest liv­ing tree in China known so far, that soars 45-50 meters and mea­sures over 50 centimeters in breast diameter, the tallest rising 55 meters and having breast diameter up to over 1 meter. Soaring up into the sky, its exquisite form makes it one of the world's 5 kinds of big, beautiful trees for gardens, the rests of the 5 kinds of big trees

being redwood (Sequoia),Umbrella pine ( Sciadopitys), araucaria (Araucaria) and cedar (Cedrus). It scatters at the elevation of 400-1, 100 meters where it dwarfs all the other trees around it. Its name means golden coin because of its golden coin-shaped bark.

Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba) is an ancient relict survived in this park from the Glacier Age of the Quaternary Period when it came to extinction almost all over the world. It is deemed, therefore, as a living fossil tree, which had promised a good supply of domes­tic and foreign source of propagations of its kind. Wild ginkgo biloba, a tree species unique to China, had been found only in this park therefore it is also called the ancestry of world's ginkgo biloba. At present, almost 300 ancient wild ginkgo trees thrive in this park, which average 18.4 meters in height, and have breast diameters up to 45 centimeters, the biggest one towering 30 meters and having a breast diameter up to 123 centimeters. An ancient ginkgo biloba stands on a cliff, where it sent out more than 20 sprouts that cover an area of 20 square meters, forming a small stand of only one tree. Its fruits are highly nutritious, and its leaves are helpful for treating heart disease.

Tianmu Mountain magnolia (Magnolia arnoena) is an ancient relict unique to this park, which displays its exquisite fragrant blos­soms in early spring when the other wild flowers remain unawakened yet from dormancy. It is a good ornamental plant for gardens, and its leaves and fruits are available for treating cancer.

Chinese allspice (Calycanthus chinensis), a species of wintersweet, is a beautiful ornamental plant, which had been thought unique to the north America until it was discovered in this park in 1970's. Normally, wintersweet blooms in winter, but the Chinese allspice here bursts into blossom in summer.

Any vantage point overlooks a wonderful view of the full sweep of the densely forested mountains and canyons. The massive, huge and towering trees rear into the sky and sweep the clouds. One might call them the skyscrapers of the area. Their crowns have merged into the dark canopy that permits almost no sunlight penetrating to the forest floor, and the canopy of the green forests are often hidden by clouds and drifting mists. The magnificent trees stand out dra­matically up and down the canyons, creating a shady world of still­ness and tranquility, where the silence is broken by the whisper of wind in the tree-tops and song of birds.

This park is attractive not only with its own natural splendor but also with the genial weather. The summers are always pleasant, offering a comfortable summer retreat. The winters are mild and the springs are more inviting. The scene is always stunning and per­fectly delightful to the eye. The verdant forests keep you far away from the noise of the outside world and make you feel free from the daily life.

The park boasts an amazing variety of plant life including over 2,500 species of vascular plants. A huge number of useful plants grow heartily here including 1,150 species of medicinal plants, 800 species of nectar plants, 160 species of fiber plants, 120 species of starch and sugar plants, 190 species of oil plants, 160 species of per­fume plants, 140 species of tanning plants, 90 species of wild fruit trees and 650 species of ornamental plants; ferns and mosses flour­ish as well. Many of them are unique to China or to this park. Thirty ­five rare, precious and endangered species, such as maidenhair tree, golden larch, Tianmu hemlock, uniflower orchid (Changnienia arnoena) and some medicinal herbs that are good for treating cancer are key plants under state protection.