World Cultural Landscape Heritage: Lushan National Park (3)

In legend, Mount Lushan was considered the place where immortals live. The water vapor wreathes on the surface of the lake which is as far as the eye can reach, giving the mountain cool summers, abundant rainfall and dense fog. The mountain is situated in the subtropical monsoon zone, with abundant rainfall, mild and pleasant climate, and its annual precipitation is 1,950 millimeters to 2,000 millimeters. However, the annual precipitation of the Jiujiang River at the foot to the mountain is about 1,400 millimeters. Therefore, there is a great difference in temperature on the mountain and many foggy days, showing varied and colorful changes. There are about 191 foggy days in a year, which adds many fascinating sceneries and mystery for Mount Lushan.

The suitable natural conditions give Mount Lushan abundant vegetation, which shows a vertical zonal distribution. The higher the altitude, the thermal regime of surface water shows a vertical distribution, growing evergreen broadleaf forests and mixed evergreen broadleaf and deciduous broadleaf forests from the foot to the top. According to incomplete statistics, the mountain has 1,720 species of plants from 735 genera and 210 families, belonging to seven types including the temperate zone, tropical zone, subtropical zone, East Asia, North America, and China. It is a natural botanical garden.