Shennongjia forest,

    Hubei Province

    Audiences have been captivated by the beautiful and mysterious forest in the recently released Hollywood animation blockbuster “Kungfu Panda 2.” Actually, the forest is not just the brainchild of the animation designers. If you go to Shennongjia forest in Hubei Province you will be reminded of the amazing scenery from the movie.

    Located in the west of Hubei Province, Shennongjia nature reserve is named after Shennongshi (Emperor Yan) who, according to legend, once tasted every herbal plant in the forest to look for cures for diseases. He was believed to have invented crockery, discovered herbal medicine and taught his people how to cultivate land.

    The reserve covers a total area of 76,950 hectares with its highest part, Shennong Peak, standing 3,105 meters above sea level.

    Shennongjia forest is characterized by high mountains, steep slopes and deep valleys, which form a unique and evocative landscape. There are thousands of varieties of herb, including the rhizome gastrodiae, goldthread root and many other precious local herbs. Because of this, Shennongjia is known as the “Garden of Herbs” or “Natural Herb Garden.”

    It ranks first among nature reserves in central China in terms of number and categories of species. Here live 334 types of amniotes and several wild animals under national protection.

    Transport: Fly to Wuhan, capital of Hubei Province, from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and take a long-distance bus to Shiyan City. There is a bus to Songbai Township, capital of Shennongjia Forest Zone, at 8 a.m. every day from Shiyan Long-distance Bus Station.

    Yinxing Village,

    Yunnan Province

    The movie “Wu Xia”, by Hong Kong director Peter Chan, has made Yinxing Village in Tengchong, Yunnan Province, a well-known place to Chan’s fans.

    Only about 40 kilometers from Tengchong and next to Tengchong National Vocano Park, the small ancient village is located in woodlands. Walking around the village in autumn is like walking in a fairy tale, with falling leaves and ancient houses.

    There are more than 3,000 ancient maidenhair trees in the village, including 50 that are more than 500 years old and more than 70 400-year-old trees.

    There are two maidenhair trees at about 600 years old and are called “Mother of Maidenhair Trees” by the villagers. Each tree can have more than 500 kilograms of ginkgoes a year, which is not even the highest in the park. Villagers said that the two trees were the most precious in the village, and could bring them good luck.

    In Jiangdong area in Tengchong, there are more than 10,000 maidenhair trees and most of them are seed trees. “It is said that seed trees cannot bloom, but actually they can. However, they only bloom in the middle of the night and the flowers will be dead very soon,” said Party chief of the village, surnamed Yang.

    Transport: Fly to Kunming, capital of Yunnan Province, from Shenzhen Bao’an International Airport and change a flight to Tengchong. Take a bus to Gudong Township.

    Accommodation: There is a wide selection of hotels and hostels in Tengchong and Gudong and you can also stay with locals in the villages.(Wang Yuanyuan)