Danxia Mountain, located in Renhua County, Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province, is the named place and typical representative of Danxia landform, and is known as the "quintessence of geoscience". In 2010, Danxia Mountain, along with five other scenic spots, was included in the World Natural Heritage List, becoming the eighth World Natural Heritage Site in China. Danxia Mountain is not only beautiful, but also rich in history, culture and biodiversity, and hides many amazing secrets, let's explore together!
The formation of Danxia Mountain has gone through a long geological history. According to research, the rocks of Danxia Mountain are mainly red sandstone, shale and conglomerate, formed in 1Between 400 million and 70 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period, it was a huge inland basin with thick red strata. Later, due to the movement of the earth's crust, the basin underwent many intermittent uplifts, forming the Danxia Basin. Under the erosion of flowing water and the action of gravity, the red layer of the Danxia Basin was cut into pieces of mountains, forming the current Danxia Mountain. The rock of Danxia Mountain contains a large amount of iron oxide, which makes the mountain show a bright red color, especially under the irradiation of the sun, it is more colorful like Wodan, bright as the sun, so it is named Danxia Mountain.
The landform of Danxia Mountain is dominated by Chibi Danya, Danxia peaks, Danxia caves, lane valley landforms, etc., which have the characteristics of majestic, strange, dangerous, beautiful and secluded, and are the most typical areas of Danxia landform development, the most complete types, the most abundant shapes and the most beautiful scenery. The landform of Danxia Mountain is caused by factors such as different hardness of rocks, different development of joints, and different erosion of flowing water. The landform of Danxia Mountain has many peculiar shapes, such as Yang Yuan Stone, Yin Yuan Stone, Human Face Strange Stone, Ancient Turtle Looking at the Moon, Flying Stone, etc., each with its own charm and breathtaking. The landform of Danxia Mountain also has many wonderful phenomena, such as stone forest, stone sea, stone pillar, stone bridge, stone gate, stone cave, etc., forming a natural wonder, which is amazing.
The ecosystem of Danxia Mountain is very rich and diverse, with typical evergreen broad-leaved forests and unique Danxia landform biomes, which is an important base for the protection of wild animal and plant resources and ecological restoration research. There are 216 families, 891 genera and 2096 species of plant resources in Danxia Mountain, including 23 species of rare and endangered protected plants, such as Chinese leek, Ulva ulva, golden retriever, water fern, Danxia sycamore, semi-maple lotus, philodendron, Chinese knotweed, etc. There are 50 orders, 281 families and 1429 species of animal resources in Danxia Mountain, including 8 species of key protected animals, such as clouded leopard, forest musk deer, black muntjac, yellow-bellied horned pheasant, pangolin, small-clawed otter, great spotted civet, impala, etc. The ecosystem of Danxia Mountain not only provides people with beautiful natural landscapes, but also provides people with rich biological resources and ecological services, which is a precious wealth of human beings.
Danxia Mountain has a profound cultural heritage, has a high historical and cultural value, temple buildings, cliff stone carvings, inscriptions, ancient cottages, rock temples, hanging coffins and other cultural relics and historic sites. As early as the Neolithic Age, there were ancient Yue ancestors who lived here, leaving behind catfish cultural sites. During the Sui and Tang dynasties, there were monks and nuns who began to operate, and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing dynasties. At present, more than 40 remains of cave temples have been discovered, among which the most famous ones are Jinshiyan Temple, Bessen Temple, Xueyan Temple, etc. The cliff carvings and inscriptions of Danxia Mountain are dazzling. In the area of Danxia Mountain Tongtian Gorge, Beichuan Temple, Mengjue Pass, Jinshiyan and so on, there are 111 cliff stone carvings from the Northern Song Dynasty to the first year, among which the cliffs with big characters such as "Jinyan", "Danxia" and "Beiyoutian" are the most representative. The culture of Danxia Mountain has also attracted many literati to write poems, such as the Northern Song Dynasty politician Yu Jing, the Qing Dynasty writer Yuan Mei, etc., all of whom have left words of praise for Danxia Mountain.
There are many secrets of Danxia Mountain, waiting for you to discover. Danxia Mountain is a comprehensive tourist attraction integrating nature, history and culture, and it is a place worth exploring all your life. Come to Danxia Mountain and feel the charm of "the quintessence of geoscience"!
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