Zhongtiao Mountain

Zhongtiao Mountain

Zhongtiao Mountain is located in the south of Shanxi Province, between the Yellow River and Sushui river. Across Linfen, Yuncheng, Jincheng three cities, between Taihang Mountain and Huashan Mountain, the mountain is long and narrow, so it is named Zhongtiao. The main peak of Xuehua mountain, 1994 meters above sea level, is located in the southeast of Yongji City, Shanxi Province. Lishan, which connects Wangwu mountain in the northeast, is the birthplace of Wushui river at an altitude of 2322 meters. Because Zhongtiao Mountain shields Luoyang, Tongguan and the Central Plains, guards Xi'an and the northwest, and overlooks southern Shanxi and Northern Henan, its strategic position is very important.

In the early 1990s, more than 20000 hectares of virgin forest were discovered here. There are precious tree species such as Lianxiang tree, Shanbai tree, niubeisuan, hongshiji, Qingtan, and rare animals such as golden cat, Golden Eagle, leopard, macaque and giant salamander.

Li Daoyuan of the Northern Wei Dynasty wrote in shuijingzhu: "Qifeng xiaju, Gufeng mark, cover the surface of Qun Quan, Cuibai Yinfeng, Qingquan guanding.

Geology and geomorphology

The Zhongtiao Mountain is about 160 km long and 10-15 km wide with northeast southwest trend. The altitude is 1200-2300m, the relative altitude is 800-1500m, the north slope is steep, and the south slope is gentle. Structurally, it belongs to Zhongtiao anticline, with Archean gneiss, Proterozoic quartzite, dolomite and volcanic rock series in the exposed rocks, and lower Paleozoic limestone in the south slope.

Zhongtiao Mountain can be divided into three sections: the eastern section is called Lishan, with shunwangping as the highest, 2322 meters above sea level. The top of the mountain is platform like, with Yuanqu fault basin in between; the western section is called Zhongtiao Mountain, standing between Yuncheng Basin and Yellow River Valley, with Xuehua mountain as the main peak, 1994 meters above sea level, with a relative height difference of 1500 meters. The middle section is gentle and terrace like, and the saddle of watershed near Zhangdian has three toed horses and red earth The broad valley covered by loess was formed by the uplift of the broad valley in Tangxian period. The main mineral resources are copper, gold, phosphorus, coal and iron.

Climatic characteristics

Zhongtiao Mountain is known as "Shanxi natural botanical garden". It has suitable temperature, abundant rainfall and superior natural conditions. It is a transition area from temperate zone to subtropical zone, so it occupies a unique position in North China flora.

Water system

Due to the mild climate and suitable precipitation, there is Wushui in the north and the Yellow River in the south. The natural landscape is magnificent. There are many streams flowing into Wushui and the Yellow River from the garden.

Characteristic products

Zhongtiao Mountain is the forest region with the largest number of tree species in Shanxi Province, with a forest area of 24700 hectares and a coverage rate of about 40%. There are warm temperate vegetation, mainly deciduous broad-leaved mixed Mudi and Pinus tabulaeformis forest dominated by Quercus, and precious Eucommia ulmoides, black starling, kiwifruit and lacquer trees. About 800 hectares of primeval forest has been discovered, which is the only remaining part of the Loess Plateau in Northwest China.

The main tree species are oak, birch, poplar, Pinus tabulaeformis, Pinus armandii, etc. there are more than 100 kinds of medicinal plants. The main plants are Cornus officinalis, Forsythia suspensa, Schisandra chinensis, Scutellaria baicalensis, bupleurum, etc. there are also valuable medicinal plants and edible fungi, such as Acorus calamus, polygonatum odoratum and rare Cordyceps sinensis, Hericium erinaceus, Ganoderma lucidum, etc.

There are rare wild animals such as macaques and giant salamanders. According to the survey, there are 478 species of woody plants in Zhongtiao Mountain, belonging to 164 genera of 73 families. Among them, 18 species belong to 10 genera of 5 families, 6 species belong to 2 genera of 2 families of monocotyledons and 454 species belong to 152 genera of 66 families of dicotyledons. The results show that the floristic geographical elements of families, genera and species are complex and diverse. The distribution type of families is tropical subtropical temperate zone, followed by temperate zone. The distribution type of genera is temperate zone. The percentage of north temperate zone is the highest, which reflects the temperate nature of the flora. The distribution type of species is the most endemic in China Most of them are distributed in East Asia, followed by temperate Asia. The origin of woody plants in this flora is ancient, and the permeability, intersection and transition of floristic geographical elements are obvious. Zhongtiao Mountain is the area where rare and endangered plants are concentrated in North China woody flora, with 15 species of national key protected plants.

Human history

Geographically, Zhongtiao Mountain runs along the Yellow River, with narrow and long mountains. The whole mountain range divides the Central Plains and Northwest China: Jinnan basin is on its north side, and the Central Plains is on its south side, just like a magnificent natural gateway.

Sima Zhen, a famous historian of the Tang Dynasty, once recorded: "the west of Zhongtiao (mountain) along the great river path, from the east of Zhongtiao (mountain), to the dangerous selection of Fen and Jin, is called linger.".

As far as the ancients are concerned, Zhongtiaoshan means two kinds of significance to the country: Treasury and weapons Treasury.

Archaeologists found the city site of Shang Dynasty in Yuanqu County, Shanxi Province, which caused some important problems in the history and geography of Shang Dynasty. In archaeology, it represents the "Erlitou culture" of Xia Dynasty and the two sides of Zhongtiao Mountain. According to historical documents, there are "summer ruins" to the north of Zhongtiao Mountain, and "summer residences" to the east of the south. It seems that the region of Xia Dynasty really crossed the north and south of Zhongtiao Mountain. Geography emphasizes the relationship between man and land. The relationship between man and mountain between Xia nationality and Zhongtiao should also have its unique content.

Yuncheng Salt Lake at the foot of Zhongtiao Mountain was once the largest salt production base in China. About 70 million years ago, affected by a large orogeny, Zhongtiao Mountain in the south of Yuncheng Basin, Gushan Mountain and Jiwang mountain in the north of Yuncheng Basin folded and rose, while other plates continued to sink, forming a large area of sedimentary depression Jiechi is the lowest depression in the basin. Archaeological excavation has proved that as early as 1.8 million years ago, the salt lake was full of human activities, and could make tools and use wildfire. Around salt mining, a series of temples, gates, pavilions and other buildings have been built around the salt lake.

Historians say that it contains "nine percent of the world's salt". Who can occupy here means who can control the lifeblood of the world. Therefore, from the time of the origin of the Yellow Emperor to the Tang, song and Ming Dynasties, countless rulers sent heavy soldiers and officials to guard the mountain and hold their wallets tightly.

The Xia ruins recorded in the literature are located to the north of Zhongtiao Mountain. Perhaps, during the Xia and Shang Dynasties, people had gathered in the Zhongtiaoshan area, engaged in copper mining and casting. Around Zhongtiaoshan, ancient copper products such as copper chisels, bronze arrowheads and face models were found in Xiaxian County, Shanxi Province, while large-scale copper casting sites of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty were found in Houma. A large number of bronzes of the Western Zhou Dynasty have also been unearthed from the cemetery of the ancient Guo State in Sanmenxia City, Henan Province, which is close to the Yellow River and Zhongtiao Mountain. Taking Zhongtiaoshan as the logistics base, entering the Central Plains and retreating to Guanzhong is the strategic plan of Jifa, King Wu of Zhou Dynasty, when the people of Zhou Dynasty rose.

In the spring and Autumn period, Jin Wengong and Wei Wenhou and Wei Wuhou of Wei state in the Warring States period shared the same idea with Ji Fa: Jin State occupied Yuncheng Basin, with the help of the rapid development of Zhongtiaoshan, when the national strength was strong, it was able to lead the army southward into the Yellow River Valley and plot the central plains; Wei state, with the help of Zhongtiaoshan copper mine, was the first to rise among the seven heroes in the Warring States period.

Zhongtiao Mountain is a famous mountain in history. According to Fengchan book of historical records, there are seven famous mountains in the west of China, one is Boshan. Thin mountain, Xiangshan also, also the synonym of Zhongtiao. Similarly, the biography of emperor Mu also records that (King Mu of Zhou) toured Xiangshan mountain from the head of the river to the East. Xiangshan is Zhongtiao Mountain.

In modern times, although the Zhongtiaoshan civilization has lost its former glory with the passing of the cold weapon era, its military significance has never declined, or even become more significant than before, because it is located at the junction of Shanxi and Henan. Therefore, in the eyes of modern people, it is "the Maginot line of defense in the East".

During the Anti Japanese War, the Chinese Army regarded Zhongtiao Mountain as the gateway to Guanzhong, because the Japanese wanted to enter Xi'an, they had to take Zhongtiao Mountain first. After occupying the Central Plains, the Japanese called Zhongtiao Mountain "caecum" and thought that if they could not take Zhongtiao Mountain, the Empire would get "caecum".

As a result, the Japanese aggressors besieged Zhongtiao Mountain for 13 times in a short period of more than three years from 1937 to the beginning of 1941, but they were all repulsed by the Chinese army under the command of Wei Lihuang. Among the Chinese army at that time, the most famous group was the Shaanxi soldiers known as "lengwa", namely the 17th Route Army of the National Revolutionary Army and the family background of General Yang Hucheng. They fought bloody battles for three years and kept the invincible Japanese out of Tongguan at the cost of more than 20000 casualties. For this reason, a musician once composed a song to praise: "Zhongtiao Mountain, high and high, it's our qigefei, it's our magino "

The most tragic battle in the frontal battlefield of the Anti Japanese war was also launched in Zhongtiaoshan, which is called "Zhongtiaoshan battle" in history books. Due to inadequate preparation and improper command, the Chinese army in the battle was defeated and suffered heavy losses: Tang Huaiyuan, commander of the third army, led the whole army to the last man in a bloody battle and killed himself in the heavy rain; Cun Xingqi, commander of the 12th division, was unwilling to be captured after his left leg was blown up and pulled out his gun to kill himself. No one under his command escaped and the whole army was killed At the end of the campaign, the Chinese army lost nearly 80000 people, which was regarded as "the biggest mistake" and "the biggest shame" by the national government at that time.

tourist resources

Zhongtiaoshan National Forest Park is located in the south of Shanxi Province, across Linfen, Jincheng and Yuncheng, with a total area of 46301.3 hectares. It is one of the birthplaces of Chinese culture. There are more than 1000 species of seed plants in the area, including more than 400 woody plants and more than 10 national and provincial key protected plants. It was approved by the Ministry of forestry in 1993

Chinese PinYin : Zhong Tiao Shan