Chapter 2 A Land of Healthcare

Since the human body is a creation of nature,“to maintain health in a natural manner”is the greatest wisdom of health maintenance.Hu Zhen,dean of the Schoolof Arts and Humanities at the Hubei University of Chinese Medicine,claims that the most prominent feature of Shennongjia’s TCM culture lies in its philosophy:keeping healthy in a naturalway.

The key point in health preservation is to regulate one’s heartbeat,relieve one’s mentality,and smooth one’s qixue (qi and blood).Therefore,a naturalenvironmentis the chieffactor in determining health quality.Here it can help people to exhale the old and inhale the new by absorbing the essence of nature.Shennongjia,a paradise of the earth and a gift of God,is endowed to be the most ideall and for health maintenance on the globalscale.

Earth’s 31° north latitude line mostly goes through deserts and oceans,except Shennongjia,which stands alone in this magical latitude.Due to the fact that Shennongjia is at the edge of the transitional zone from the“First Ladder”to the“Second Ladder”of the Chinese terrain,the abundant sunshine and the heavy precipitation caused by warm and humid air currents from the Pacific Ocean cause more than 90%of Shennongjia to be covered by plants.The altitude and complex geological structure have also granted Shennongjia genuinely enchanting scenery and mystery.

苍山飞驰(龙海涛摄)Moving mountains(Photo by Long Haitao)

天燕雾景Foggy Tianyan Scenic Spot

第二章养生之地

人是自然界的产物，“以自然之道，养自然之生”，是养生的最高智慧。湖北中医药大学人文学院院长胡真说，神农架中医药文化最突出的特点在于它的中医药理念：自然养生。

健康养生贵在调心、济神、顺气血。汲取自然之精气，吐故纳新，自然条件是决定养生质量的关键。神农架是地球的传奇，上苍的特赐，神斧天工，无疑是世界上最适宜养生的地方之一。

地球北纬31度线大部分穿越沙漠和海洋，神农架一枝独秀，矗立在这条神奇的纬度带上。由于她同时处于中国地形从第一阶梯向第二阶梯过渡的边缘，充足的日照和太平洋暖湿气流带来的大量降水，使神农架90%以上被植物覆盖，再加上自身合适的高度和复杂的构造，使得神农架风光无限，谜幻丛生。