Songshan National Nature Reserve of Beijing is on the southern side of Mount Haituo in Yanqing County of Beijing. It was established under the approval of the Beijing Municipal Government in 1985 and was elevated to a state-level reserve the next year. The Reserve is an attempt to protect temperate forest ecosystem largely composed of natural pinus tabulaeformis forest.
The Reserve occupies an area of a total of 4,660 hectares with 1,394.2 hectares tourist enclosure. It is a world of undulating mountains and lush vegetation. The old pines grow in various shapes and forms; clear cool mountain-streams gurgle past the jagged rocks. Mount Haituo, the main peak within the Reserve, stands 2,241 m above sea level and is the second highest peak in Beijing. The Reserve contains 50 hectares of natural pinus tabulaeformis forest, the only one of its kind in Northern China, as well as a broad-leaved forest of well-preserved Juglans mandshuricas, lidens, Fraxinus chinenses, elms, birches, etc. There has been record of the luxuriance of the woods since as early as the Year of Jiaqing in the Qing Dynasty. Apart from the pinus forest, there are more than 30 other scenic spots, such as Baipuquan (Hundred-fall Fountain), Baxiandong (Cave of the Eight Immortals), Songyuetan (Pool of the Pine and the Moon), Xiongshiyinshui (Lion Drinking Water), Feilongbi (Flying-dragon Cliff) and Sandieshui. The Reserve is also home to a wide range of wildlife, including more than 600 spermatophytes, 700 vascular plants, 600 backboned animal species and 70 higher animals. Animals under
special state protection such as leopard and gorals can also be found here.
The reserve offers a soothing treat for the eye and the mind as you roam about within the richness of the forest and the magnificence of the mountains. Here you can enjoy the distant view of the verdant landscape and observe the picturesque forest scenes at the same time. Due to its elevated topography, the mountain climate of the Songshan Reserve is temperate and pleasant with an annual average temperature of 7 degrees Celsius, 4 degrees lower than that of the urban zone. The Songshan thermal spring is an ideal place for bathing and rehabilitation. Its water temperature stays at 45 degrees Celsius and the water yield amounts to 2,000 m3. The spring-water contains 27 chemical elements, and the amount of fluorine is as high as 12 ml/l, which proves effective cure for skin diseases, arthritis and partial neuralgia. On the whole, the Songshan National Nature Reserve is site for scientific research and tourist and health resort perfectly combined.
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