CLIMATE · VERIFIED DEVELOPMENT
China Expands Tianmu Mountain Reserve to 54,700 Hectares, Becoming First UNESCO Biosphere Reserve of Its Kind
WHY IT MATTERS
The expansion formalizes protection for thousands of species, including endangered Ginkgo biloba and Chinese pangolin, and establishes a model where religious stewardship and state law jointly secure biodiversity, setting a precedent for future conservation in China.
What happened
The Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve on Tianmu Mountain in eastern China has grown from 4,300 hectares to 54,700 hectares, creating the Tianmushan‑Qingliangfeng UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2025. The expansion, the first of its kind in China, formalizes state regulations that now govern the area while preserving the long‑standing religious stewardship of Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian temples that historically protected the forest.
The reserve is a biodiversity hotspot, home to the ancient, endangered Ginkgo biloba, Chinese pangolin, black muntjac, Chinese golden larch and Tianmu ironwood.
Local officials say the blend of spiritual reverence and legal protection keeps the mountain alive and sets a new standard for conservation in the country.
PRIMARY SOURCES
China’s Tianmu Mountain reserve tackles modern conservation amid religious tradition
Mongabay · Naina Rao · Discovery and factual synthesis only; publisher copyright terms apply