Langshan Mountain-World Natural Heritage

April is a fragrant month with beautiful spring scenery. On April 10th, Langshan Scenic Area in Xinning county welcomed a group of Russian tourists. They toured among the red cliffs, clear waters and sea of clouds in Langshan, and were intoxicated by this magical land.

Liliya, a Russian tourist, said, “Langshan is so beautiful. There are many beautiful places in China. When I came to Langshan, the local friends here are all very friendly and enthusiastic. I fell in love with this place at the first sight.”

With the continuous increase of Langshan’s international popularity, more and more foreign tourists come to Langshan, experience it and fall in love with it.

The Russian tourists are full of curiosity about this trip to Langshan. Under the guidance of the tour guide, they successively visited popular scenic spots such as Bajiao Stronghold, Tianyi Alley and Chili Peak. While enjoying the strange peaks and clear waters, they also felt the idyllic rural scenery, and experienced the rich folk culture. They stayed in homestays, tasted delicious food, participated in intangible cultural heritage activities, and experienced the unique natural and cultural landscapes of Langshan.

On December 14th, the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese announced the 11th batch of “China  International Cultural Communication Base  for Overseas Chinese”. The Langshan Scenic Spot was confirmed to be successfully included, making it the first “China  International Cultural Communication Base  for Overseas Chinese ” in Shaoyang city.

In recent years, the Langshan Scenic Spot   in Xinning county has provided high-quality services for overseas Chinese and returned overseas Chinese and their families. It has successively hosted the 2023 “Chinese Roots Searching Journey” Summer Camp for Young Overseas Chinese.

The Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism recently released a list of provincial-level blocks serving tourism and leisure, our county’s Shunhuangli（Emperor Shun Neighborhood) was included in the list.

Located at the intersection of Langshan Avenue and Huangjin Avenue, Shunhuangli  is a comprehensive tourism and leisure resort built by Hunan Jingcheng Tourism Management Co., Ltd. with a cost of 3.6 billion yuan. The overall plan covers an area of approximately 7000 acres, covering five functional zones: tourism distribution center, cultural and leisure center, folk experience area, health resort area, and business exchange area. It is a world-class original leisure resort that integrates various modern tourism elements such as cultural leisure, ecological agricultural experience, tourism distribution, business exchange, health vacation, folk and ethnic cultural experience.

According to a public notice pusblished on the official website of Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism,  the former site of the Shaoyang Tangtian Wartime Lecture Academy meets the requirements of the national 4A level tourist attraction standard and is proposed to be   determined as national 4A level tourist attraction.

The former site of Tangtian Wartime Lecture Academy is located on the opposite bank of Fuyi River in Tangtian Town, Shaoyang County, facing Furong Peak across the river. Founded by Lv Zhenyu, a Communist Party member sent by the CPC Hunan Provincial Committee and then director of the Research Department of the Anti-Japanese Cultural Support Association of Hunan Province during the Anti-Japanese War, the Tangtian Wartime Lecture Academy was a school to train anti-Japanese cadres, it was also the only anti-Japanese military and political school established by the CPC in the Kuomintang controlled area during the Anti-Japanese War.

Although the Tangtian Wartime Lecture Academy only existed for 8 months, it trained more than 250 progressive young people who later became the backbones of the Anti-Japanese War and the Liberation War. Especially, revolutionary teachers and students successively established local party organizations in some areas not controlled by the Kuomintang, promoting the Anti-Japanese and national salvation movement throughout the Hunan province, and writing a glorious page in the history of the Anti-Japanese War in Hunan Province.

It is the navel orange harvest season now. The Red Red Heart Navel Orange Professional Cooperative in the Huanglong town, Xinning county,  together with Guilin International Travel Agency, Xinning County Langshanhong Travel Agency and Xinning County Youth Travel Agency, launched a new travel  package of touring Langshan mountain and picking navel orange. Tourists not only enjoy the beautiful scenery of Langshan mountain, but also have the opportunity to deeply experience the fun of picking Langshan ecological navel orange, which is welcomed by a large number of tourists. 

On December 4, the navel orange base in Sanxing Village greeted first group of nearly 100 tourists. In the orchard, golden navel oranges hang all over the branches, creating a beautiful harvest scene. Tourists strolled through the navel orange trees, holding scissors and carefully selecting oranges, immersed in the joy of picking. Occasionally they took photos  to record this wonderful moment.

Mo Huifang, a tourist from Foshan city, Guangdong province: Langshan mountain is very beautiful, and Langhsan navel orange is so big, so red, so sweet! I plan to buy some more for my family and friends.

On November 27th, the ancient ginkgo tree clusters in Yangqiao Village, Huilongsi Town, Xinning county welcomed many tourists to enjoy its beautiful scenery.

It is reported that the largest tree in the ancient ginkgo tree clusters in Yangqiao Village has been over 1000 years old, with a height of 28 meters, a circumference of 9.42 meters, and a diameter of 3 meters. It is known as the “King of Ginkgo”. The branches of the ginkgo tree spread out like a big umbrella, and the leaves look like little fans, which is really fantastic.

Tourist Lan Xiaoyan: I saw a friend posting the ancient ginkgo tree here on my moments. It is said that it has a history of thousands of years, so we drive here and have a look together today. It’s really stunning and beautiful!

Wu Xianyong(Secretary of Yang Qiao Village): The ancient tree themed park built here by the Hunan Provincial Forestry Department is about to be completed by the end of the year. Our village will take this opportunity to protect the ancient and famous trees, promote rural tourism and economic development in our village.

Recently, the Hunan Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism released the list of five-star and four-star tourism homestays  in Hunan Province for year 2023. The Xinning county’s Langshan Expert Building Homestay and Xinglin Courtyard Homestay were respectively included in the five-star tourism homestay list and the four-star tourism homestay list in Hunan Province.

Langshan Expert Building Homestay is about 3 kilometers away from the Bajiao Stronghold scenic area. It is a featured boutique homestay that integrates accommodation, dining, and leisure experience.

The Xinglin Courtyard Homestay is located within the Langshan scenic area. The homestay is 12 kilometers away from Xinning county, 4 kilometers away from Chili Peak scenic spot, 3 kilometers away from Tianyi Lane & Zixia Cave scenic area, and 15 kilometers away from Baijiao Stronghold scenic spot, with very convenient transportation.

On December 2nd, the first export ceremony of Langshan navel oranges to Singapore was held at Langshan Fruit Industry Co., Ltd. in Xinning county, marking the first time that Langshan navel oranges enters the international market. Liu Xiaoming, the director of Shaoyang Customs, Peng Hongbing, deputy secretary of the Xinning county party committee of CPC and the head of county, and Wen Guohua, deputy director of the Animal and Plant Inspection and Quarantine Department of Changsha Customs, attended the ceremony. Deng Kaili, the deputy head of county, presided over the event.

The 50 tons of Langshan navel oranges exported this time will be transported across the ocean to Singapore, and it is expected to export over 3000 tons to Singapore this year. Next, Xinning county will gradually contact more fruit distributors from southeast Asian countries to export Langshan navel oranges to more countries.

The first export of Langshan navel oranges marks the official journey of Langshan navel oranges to the international market. The Langshan navel orange, nurtured by the high-quality soil and good ecological environment of Langshan, is loved by domestic and foreign consumers for its unique flavor and quality. Xinning county has laid a solid foundation for the export of Langshan navel oranges by actively adjusting the agricultural industry structure and promoting the construction of agricultural product brands.

On November 18th, the first China (Hunan Xinning) Navel Orange Industry Development Forum and the Blue Paper Press Conference of the “Langshan Navel Orange Quality Report” was held in  Xinning county, Huanan province. Dozens of industry leaders and renowned experts and scholars gathered in Xinning county to taste Langshan Navel Orange, discuss the future of the navel orange industry, and exchange academic  achievements.

Chen Guoqing, Vice Chairman of the Chinese Citrus Society, attended forum and announced the release of the blue paper on “Langshan Navel Orange Quality Report”.

Chen Guoqing pointed out that the blue book “Langshan Navel Orange Quality Report” analyzes and summarizes the five major qualities of Langshan Navel Orange, including “appearance, texture, flavor, nutrition, and health”, as well as 94 quality indicators. The blue paper enriches and expands the quality connotation of Langshan Navel Orange, providing scientific basis and data support for the development of the Langshan Navel Orange industry to achieve standardized production and brand marketing.