Mount Mao'er, north of Guilin City, one of the most popular scenic sites in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, has been designated a state nature reserve.
Mount Mao'er Nature Reserve, with the highest peak at 2,141.5 meters, covers 17,000 hectares. It boasts the source of Lijiang River, which traverses Guilin City and is dubbed the "soul of Guilin," and stands between the two water systems of the Yangtze River, China's longest, and the Pearl River, in southern China.
The reserve is home to 2,100 kinds of vascular bundle plants, and 311 types of animals, many of which are under state protection.
Mount Mao'er is also known as the site where a B-24 bomber of the United States crashed with ten servicemen aboard during World War II. The wreckage, including a piece indicating the number of the aircraft, and remains of the US servicemen, which were found by two local farmers in 1996, were handed over to the United States the next year.
There are over 1,551 nature reserves in China, including 197 of state-level. Mount Mao'er was designated a nature reserve in 1976, and upgraded to one at national level recently.
(Xinhua News Agency March 24, 2003)
