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Origin of the Juma
river | Hebei is rich in geological remains.
Approved by the Ministry of Land and Resources, 3 scenic mountains in Hebei are
listed as the National Geological Parks, namely the Baishi Mount in Laishui
County, Liujiang Mount in Qinhuangdao City and Tianshengqiao Mount in Fuping
County.
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Cliff of
Baishi Mountain |
Geological park, one type of
natural parks, is a newly created term by UNESCO in their plan for geological
park research. It has specific meaning for geological science. With graceful and
rarely seen appearances, this kind of parks can serve not only as tourist spots
but also geological reserves, geological research centers and geological
knowledge popularization bases.
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The gorge with ten
waterfalls |
Located
in Laiyuan County, the Baishi Mount Geological Park, covering an area of 60 sq.
km, are composed of the Baishi Mount, Shipu Gorge and Juma River Source. The
Baishi Mount is the only marble stone forest system in China. More than one
hundred stone peaks with different heights are the outcome of the top layer
change of the dolomite stone after a very long period of time. The Shipu gorge,
or the Ten Fall Gorge, has 10 waterfalls in succession with the largest drop of
60 meters. The stream flows for about 4 km. The Juma River Source, known as
Laishui in ancient times, is composed of the Laishui River source, Yishui River
source and Juma River source. In an area of 60 sq. km there are 7 spring groups
with a total out pour of water 3.4 cubic meters per second. They are the only
cave spring groups that have never stopped pouring out water so
far.
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The Yansai
Lake |
The Liujiang Geological Park in
Qinhuangdao, covering an area of 186 sq. km, is mainly composed of the
geological remains zone, topographical remains zone and historical culture
remains zone. The geological remains zone refers to the Geological Remains
Reserve at the Liujiang Basin. It consists of typical layer section, biological
fossils, and geological structure traces and is known as “ Natural Geological
Museum”. The topographical remains zone, characterized by the topographical
remains of granite stone erosion in the Yanshan Mountains, includes 4 scenic
spots, the Zushan Mount, Changshou Mount, Jiaoshan Mount and Yansai Lake. The
Zushan Mount, with its main peak as high as 1,424 m. above sea level, is reputed
as “the Huangshan Mount in North China”.
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Changshou Mount | The Changshou Mount is high and
straight. The Jiaoshan Mount, with the first section of the Great Wall in Hebei
on it, is dangerously steep. And the Yansai Lake, circled by many steep mountain
cliffs, is praised as a pearl among the Yanshan Mountains. Within the historical
culture remains zone, a section of the Great Wall about 50 km long, which was
built in the Ming Dynasty, is well preserved.
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Tianshengqiao waterfall
group |
The Tianshengqiao National Geological Park lies 25 km west of Fuping County.
Covering an area of 32 sq. km, it is composed of the Tianshengqiao fall zone of
Achean Era and the geological sections by the Longquanguan pass. Tianshengqiao,
or Stone Bridge, is situated on the top of a fall of 112 meters. With a strange
structure, it is rarely seen in China. In addition, the valley with 9 falls also
presents a magnificent view. The geological sections by the Longquanguan pass
are the outcome of rock strata change after 2.8 billion years. They are listed
in the China Strata Record as an independent stratum unit and named the
Longquanguan Group.
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Nandagang Wetland |
Wetland is also one of Hebei’s rich resources.
Being an important ecosystem on earth, wetland plays a great role in storing
floodwater, adjusting climate, resisting soil erosion, and reducing environment
pollution. It serves not only as natural water storage, but also multiplying
ground and winter shelter for wildlife, especially some rare waterfowls. It
provides water and food so it is deeply related to us. As a province lacking
water, Hebei is not bounteous in wetlands. But it has many types of wetlands
since it has varied landforms. From coastal areas to inland areas and from plain
areas to plateau areas, natural or man-made wetlands could be found. They total
about 11,000 sq. km, accounting for 5.9 percent of the provincial total. Among
them, the coastal wetlands in Changli County, in Beidaihe, and in Nandagang, the
wetland in the mouth of the Luanhe River, wetlands in the Baiyangdian Lake and
in the Hengshuihu Lake, and the wetland in Bashang Plateau (the Anguli Lake in
Zhangbei County), have been listed in “The Record of Major Wetlands in China” by
the State Forestry Bureau. To well protect these wetlands, 6 wetland reserves
have been set up in Hebei.
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