By Daibo

The Laojunshan Nature Reserve is located in the north-central part of Pingshan County, south-central Sichuan, with the geographic coordinates 103o54'-104o04'E and 28o39'-28o43'N. It was authorized by the Yibin Municipal Government in 2000 and upgraded to a provincial-leveled nature reserve in 2002. The total area at present is 3500 ha. The topography is deeply cut medium-high mountain landscape. Elevation ranges from about 900m to 2008m. Climate characters with clear difference of seasons and profusion of rainfall. Annual mean temperature is 12oC-14.7oC and precipitation is above 1500mm, resulting in an average relative humidity over 85%. The typical vegetation is subtropical wet broadleaf forest, which can be divided into three belts -- secondary bushes, evergreen broadleaf forest, evergreen and deciduous mixed broadleaf forest. Previously, the areas were managed by the county forest farm, thus the northeastern part has been converted to replanted and secondary forest tracts due to long-term exploitation. With complex topography and religious propose, the large part in the west and south is still kept intact. The 2667 ha primary broadleaf forest within the reserve is quite unique, it can seldom be found elsewhere at this latitude.

Excellent physical condition brings up abundant natural resources and high bio-diversity. According to recent surveys based on previous researches, there are 806 advanced plant species recorded in the reserve, which belong to 141 families and 433 genera. Till now, 351 terrestrial vertebrate species of 23 orders, 72 families and 199 genera are observed occurring there. Among the fauna and flora, quite a lot are rare and precious endemic species. The famous Chinese Dove Tree, Gingkgo Tree, Dawn Redwood, Chinese Yew and Spinulose Tree Fern also exist in the reserve. Besides these, other rare precious plants include Cercidiphyllum japonicum, Ormosia hosiei, Cinnamomum longepaniculatum, Tetracentron sinense, Gastrodia elata and Cibotium barometz. For the animals, there are 3 species listed as first ranked protected animals, 32 species as second ranked protected animals with national importance. Other 14 species are on the list of protected animals with provincial importance. Totally, 50 species comprised with 12 amphibians, 8 reptiles, 23 birds and 7 mammals are endemic to China.

The traditional religious culture is another feature of the Laojunshan. It was said that the raw material of nanmu for building the golden colonnade of the Palace Museum, Beijing, came from the mountain, thus the Laojunshan was favored a name as "Mount of God Wood" by the emperor. There are several Buddhist and Taoist temples and relics remaining on the mount. Unlike most other shrines, Buddhism and Taoism are harmoniously mixed together here. Being the most famous fairy mount in south Sichuan, the Laojunshan attracts many religious people from far away, who come to pray each year. Although the Laojunshan is a newly established nature reserve, great progresses were achieved during the past 3 years. Their management organization has been constructed. The management bureau is set in the forest farm headquarter. At present, they have 18 full time managers responsible for daily jobs. With fund support from the World Pheasant Association, the North of England Zoological Society and the German Zoological Society for the Conservation of Species and Populations, they have finished resource inventory surveys and socio-economy surveys of relevant townships. Several managers got training of professional knowledge. Construction of infra-structures and facilities are ongoing and basic equipment has partially been provided. When experts of these international NGOs visited the nature reserve, they were marveled at the astonishing biodiversity and physical conditions. On the other hand, they also bid satisfaction to the hard work of local people and gave many helpful advices and suggestions. The local managers are all keen on bettering the management of the reserve. One thing is to enlarge the protected range by extending the boundary to the northwest to involve the Wuzhishan forest tracts. Their goal in the following years is upgrading the reserve to a national-leveled one.

The Laojunshan reserve has the elegance of Mt. Emei, the peacefulness of Mt. Qingchengshan, the majesty of Mt. Huashan and the mystique of Mt. Lushan. Pooling souls of the nature forming a fairyland of the world, it just like an emerald inlaying on the north bank of the Jinsha River. With more and more compre-hension to its significance, a bright future is revealing to the public.