Chapter 5 Shennongjia as a World Attraction

S hennongjia,known as the“Roof of CentralChina,”majestically towering on the 31°N latitude line,is one of the 14 key biodiversity research areas in the world.Here numerous craggy and perilous peaks look like a group of graceful dancing girls wearing green robes,performing an opera of “the World’s Green Miracle.”Shennongjia GlobalGeopark,a rare naturalgeologicalmuseum of the world,has recorded the vicissitude history of the Earth’s crust over the past 1.9 billion years with its nearly 200 geological landscapes of mountain landforms,tectonic geomorphology,water-flow landforms,karst landforms,and glacial landforms.These special landscapes,such as late Precambrian strata,faulted dome,and Quaternary glacialremains have a great significance for scientific research and global correlation.It also attracts more and more attention of the United Nations and many globalgeographicaland geologicalresearch institutions.

云影（张鹰空摄） A lake mirroring the sunset clouds（Photo by Zhang Yingkong）

第五章世界的神农架

神农架，“华中屋脊”，雄浑地矗立在北纬31度线上，群峰争艳，像一群身披绿袍的少女，婀娜多姿，长袖善舞，演绎出世界的“绿色奇迹”，成为全球14个生物多样性关键研究地区之一。神农架世界地质公园记载着19亿年以来地壳沧海桑田变迁的历史，有山体地貌、构造地貌、流水地貌、岩溶地貌、冰川地貌等地质景观近200处，是世界罕见的天然地质博物馆。独特的晚前寒武系地层、典型的断穹构造、第四纪冰川遗迹等，具有极高的保护与科学价值和国际对比意义，越来越受到联合国和世界众多地理、地质研究机构重视。

神农之眸(雷振梁摄)An amazing cave(Photo by LeiZhenliang)