World Mixed Cultural and Natural Heritage: Mt. Emei and Leshan Giant Buddha (8)

Natural heritage

Stratum and topography

Mt. Emei preserves a relatively complete sedimentary stratum from the early Precambrian era and provides rare historical materials for the research of the earth’s crust and its history of biological evolution. The complex tectonic deformation caused by the movements of Yanshan Mountain and the Himalayas also provide sufficient basis for the research of the surface structure of the crust. Meanwhile, the magnificent various modern landscapes formed by the Neotectonics Movement under the geological background of Mt. Emei’s geological structure provided the prerequisites for the thriving and breeding of biologic groups and the establishment of unique ecosystems in the mountainous region.

Biological diversity

Mt. Emei is located in the intersection region of various natural elements. It has complex floristic elements, abundant biological species including numerous endemic species, and preserves a complete vertical belt of subtropical vegetation. The vegetation of Mt. Emei from the foot of the mountain to the top are evergreen broad-leaf forests, mixed evergreen and deciduous broadleaf forests, mixed needleleaf and broadleaf forests and dark coniferous forests. The forest cover rate of Mt. Emei reaches 87 percent. It possesses a total of 242 families of higher plants including more than 3,200 species, accounting for about 10 percent of the total number of plants in China. There are more than 1,000 kinds of plants only produced on Mt. Emei or were first discovered there and named after the mountain. A total of 31 plant species on Mt. Emei including Chinese dove trees, alsophila spinulosas, ginkgos, kingdonia unifloras, katsura trees and euptelea pleiospermum are under first grade state protection. Several kinds of plants have maintained certain original shapes such as magnolias, cotton roses, mignonettes, michelia floribunda, disporum, photinia, hemlocks and Chinese magnoliavine fruits, and are discontinuous distribution groups opposed to North America, and have a high scientific and conservation value.

Mt. Emei has complex fauna and rich animal species. It possesses a lot of old, rare and endangered species and a lot of endemic species. It is considered as the natural gene pool of animal genes. It has more than 2,300 kinds of known animal species including 51 kinds of land animals, 256 kinds of birds, 34 kinds of reptiles, 33 kinds of amphibians, more than 1,000 kinds of insects and 60 kinds of fish, as well as 157 kinds of rare species such as lesser pandas, forest musk deer, macaques, serows, silver pheasants, Chinese copper pheasants, crimson-bellied tragopans, as well as Emei mustache toads and Rana adenopleura. Therefore, Mount Emei has an important status and significance of special protection.

Medicinal materials in Mt. Emei

Mt. Emei has variety of medicinal plants with complex species and compositions. It has a lot of rare species and specialty varieties. According to the investigations and research during the past half a century, the species of medicinal plants on Mt. Emei increased from 207 in 1952 to 2,050 in 1995. These medicinal plants belong to 212 families respectively including 129 families and 1225 kinds of dicotyledonous plants. Medicinal plants that people are willing to seek include the emodins, Emei coptis roots, Emei notoginsengs, gastrodia tubers, geraniums, Chinese caterpillar fungus, Emei phellodendron amurenses, Emei ginsengs, and radix hemsleyae.