Mount Wuyi

UNESCO Mixed World Heritage site in northwest Fujian — a dramatic landscape of red sandstone peaks and the Nine-Bend River, harbouring one of the world's most significant biodiversity reserves for subtropical plants and animals, and a centre of Neo-Confucian philosophy.

Mount Wuyi was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1999 as both a natural and cultural heritage site — a mixed property. The natural values are outstanding: the mountain landscape of red Danxia sandstone peaks rising above the Nine-Bend River (Jiuquxi) is one of the most biologically diverse temperate and subtropical regions in East Asia, with over 2,400 plant species, 475 vertebrate species and 4,600 insect species recorded. The area served as a biodiversity refugium during Pleistocene glaciations and contains numerous species endemic to the mountain and its immediate surroundings.

The Nine-Bend River — so named for its nine looping meanders through the valley between the mountains — is the defining landscape element for visitors. Bamboo raft trips along the river, navigated by local boatmen using long poles, provide close-up views of the sandstone peaks, cliff faces with suspended wooden coffins of the ancient boat-coffin culture, and verdant subtropical forest. The 9.5 km rafting journey takes approximately two hours.

Culturally, Wuyishan is one of China's most important Neo-Confucian sites. The philosopher Zhu Xi (1130–1200) lived and taught here for many years, establishing the Ziyang Academy and developing the system of rational Confucian thought that became the dominant ideology of Chinese society for 700 years. The Wuyi Palace, dating to the Song dynasty, and several other historic structures survive within the scenic area.

The tea produced on the slopes of Mount Wuyi — particularly Dahongpao (Big Red Robe) oolong — is among the most prized in China, with single mother-plant cuttings reportedly changing hands for extraordinary sums.