A Brief History of Shennongjia:A Road to the World

In May of 1970,the State Council of China distributed 24 communes,two medicinal fields,and one farm,which were once under the administration of Fangxian County,Xingshan County and Badong County respectively to Shennongjia,thus the first “Forestry District”was founded in Shennongjia.Shennongjia Forestry District became the only provincial-level administrative region in China.

In July of 1986,the State Council approved the Shennongjia Nature Reserve as a national-level forest and wildlife nature reserve for protecting animals and plant resources.On December 17,1990,Shennongjia joined the UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserve.

In 1992,Shennongjia was listed by the World Bank Global Environment Facility as a permanent demonstration of global biodiversity conservation.

In 1992,the Ministry of Forestry of China approved the establishment of Shennongjia National Forest Park.The total area of the park is 245,500 hectares,with 7 scenic areas and 49 attractions.

In 2005,Shennongjia was approved by the Ministry of Land and Resources of China as a“National Geopark.”The planned area of the park is about 1,700 square kilometers.The core area of 400 square kilometers is located in the Guanmenshan Scenic Area,which preserves the most complete Quaternary glacier geologicalresources in the world.

In 2008,Dajiu Lake was honored with the title of National Wetland Park.Dajiu Lake covers an area of 3,978 hectares;Xiaojiu Lake covers an area of 1105.5 hectares.It is China’s first subalpine wetland park and fourth national wetland park.

On January 9,2012,the China National Tourism Administration gave Shennongjia a high score of 965 points,and Shennongjia was renowned as a national5A level scenic spot.

On September 9,2013,Shennongjia was certified as a World Geopark and became a comprehensive geological museum of eco-physiognomy for global scientific research and development.

In December of 2013,Shennongjia officially proceeded with the application for the World Natural Heritage Creation Award.In May of 2016,the World Heritage Center completed the assessment；on July 17,it was listed as a World Heritage Site.

On June 15,2016,Shennongjia also officially obtained a pilot reform of the nationalpark system and became one of the nine pilot nationalparks in China.

On June 22,2018,at the 2018 World Slow City Alliance Annual Meeting held in Mirande,France,Songbai(a town in Shennongjia Forestry District,Hubei Province)won the title of“International Slow City.”It was the ninth city with the honor of“International Slow City”in China and the first in Hubei Province.So Shennongjia won another world-class business card.

On August 6,2018,the World Federation ofChinese Medicine Societies approved the founding of the Forest Health Research Committee and setup its secretariatin Shennongjia.

On September 26, 2018,Shennongjia Forestry District won the title of“Chinese Natural Oxygen Bar.”

链接：神农架的“世界之路”

1970年5月，中国国务院批准将房县、兴山、巴东的24个公社和2个药材场、1个农场划为神农架林区，神农架成为我国唯一以“林区”命名的省辖行政区。

1986年7月，中国国务院批准神农架自然保护区为国家级森林和野生动物类型自然保护区，保护动植物资源。

1990年12月17日，神农架加入联合国教科文组织（UNESCO）世界生物圈保护区网。

湿地晨牧(肖华林摄)Morning pasture on the wetlands(Photo by Xiao Hualin)

月亮湾 (岳文福摄)The Moon Pond（Photo by Yue Wenfu）

1992年，神农架被世界银行全球环境基金组织列入全球生物多样性保护永久性示范地。

1992年，原中国国家林业部批复建立神农架国家森林公园，公园总面积24.55万公顷，设7个景区，49个景点。

2005年，神农架被中国国土资源部批准为“国家地质公园”。公园规划面积约1700平方公里，核心区400平方公里位于神农架神农顶、官门山风景区，保存着世界上最完整的第四纪冰川遗迹地质资源。

2008年，大九湖被评为国家湿地公园。大九湖国土面积3978公顷；小九湖国土面积1105.5公顷，是中国第一个亚高山湿地公园，第四个中国国家湿地公园。

2012年1月9日，中国国家旅游局和评选专家组给神农架打了965分的高分，通过神农架为国家5A级景区。

人间仙境大九湖(李纪堂摄)Dajiu Lake,fit for a fairytale(Photo by LiJitang)

2013年9月9日，神农架被认证为世界地质公园，成为具有世界性保护、科研和发展价值的生态地貌综合型天然地质博物馆。

2013年12月，神农架正式启动世界自然遗产申创工作。2016年5月，世界遗产中心完成评估报告；7月17日，申遗成功。

2016年6月15日，神农架还正式获取国家公园体制试点改革，成为我国首批9个试点国家公园之一。

神农谷风光 (吴廷安摄)The Shennong Valley(Photot by Wu Ting’an)

2018年6月22日，在法国米朗德举行的2018年世界慢城联盟年会上，神农架林区松柏镇获得“国际慢城”称号，这是中国第 9个、湖北首个国际慢城，神农架获得又一张世界级名片。

2018年8月6日，世界中医药学会联合会，批准成立森林康养研究专业委员会，秘书处设在神农架。

2018年9月26日，神农架林区荣获“中国天然氧吧”称号。