The Qinling () or Qin Mountains, formerly known as the Nanshan ("Southern Mountains"), are a major east–west

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have ari ...

in southern

Shaanxi Shaanxi (alternatively Shensi, see § Name) is a landlocked province of China. Officially part of Northwest China, it borders the province-level divisions of Shanxi (NE, E), Henan (E), Hubei (SE), Chongqing (S), Sichuan (SW), Gansu (W), N ...

Province, China. The mountains mark the divide between the

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

s of the

Yangtze The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

and

Yellow River The Yellow River or Huang He (Chinese: , Mandarin: ''Huáng hé'' ) is the second-longest river in China, after the Yangtze River, and the sixth-longest river system in the world at the estimated length of . Originating in the Bayan Ha ...

systems, providing a natural boundary between North and South China and support a huge variety of plant and wildlife, some of which is found nowhere else on earth. To the north is the densely populated Wei River valley, an ancient center of Chinese civilization. To the south is the Han River valley. To the west is the line of mountains along the northern edge of the

Tibetan Plateau The Tibetan Plateau (, also known as the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau or the Qing–Zang Plateau () or as the Himalayan Plateau in India, is a vast elevated plateau located at the intersection of Central, South and East Asia covering most of the Ti ...

. To the east are the lower Funiu and

Dabie Shan The Dabie Mountains () are a major mountain range located in central China. Running northwest-to-southeast, they form the main watershed between the Huai and Yangtze rivers. The range also marks the boundary between Hubei Province and its neighb ...

which rise out of the coastal plain. Shudao

The northern side of the range is prone to hot weather, however the physical barrier of the mountains mean that the land to the North has a

semi-arid A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of semi- ...

climate, with the lack of rich, fertile landscape that can not support a wealth of wildlife. The mountains also acted as a natural defense against nomadic invasions from the North, as only four passes cross the mountains. In the late 1990s a railway tunnel and a

spiral In mathematics, a spiral is a curve which emanates from a point, moving farther away as it revolves around the point. Helices Two major definitions of "spiral" in the American Heritage Dictionary are:Mount Taibai at , which is about west of the ancient Chinese capital of

Xi'an Xi'an ( , ; ; Chinese: ), frequently spelled as Xian and also known by other names, is the capital of Shaanxi Province. A sub-provincial city on the Guanzhong Plain, the city is the third most populous city in Western China, after Chongqi ...

. Three culturally significant peaks in the range are

Mount Hua Mount Hua () is a mountain located near the city of Huayin in Shaanxi Province, about east of Xi'an. It is the "Western Mountain" of the Five Great Mountains of China and has a long history of religious significance. Originally classified ...

(), Mount Li (), and Mount Maiji ().

Environment, flora and fauna

Shaohua Mountain Scenic Spot in Shaanxi Province

The environment of the Qin Mountains is a

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...

forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...

ecoregion An ecoregion (ecological region) or ecozone (ecological zone) is an ecologically and geographically defined area that is smaller than a bioregion, which in turn is smaller than a biogeographic realm. Ecoregions cover relatively large areas of ...

. The Qin Mountains form the

watershed Watershed is a hydrological term, which has been adopted in other fields in a more or less figurative sense. It may refer to: Hydrology * Drainage divide, the line that separates neighbouring drainage basins * Drainage basin, called a "watershe ...

between the

basin, which was historically home to deciduous broadleaf forests, and the

Yangtze River The Yangtze or Yangzi ( or ; ) is the longest river in Asia, the third-longest in the world, and the longest in the world to flow entirely within one country. It rises at Jari Hill in the Tanggula Mountains (Tibetan Plateau) and flows ...

basin, which has milder winters and more rainfall, and was historically home to warm temperate evergreen broadleaf forests. Therefore the Qin Mountains is commonly used as the line separating

northern and southern China Northern China () and Southern China () are two approximate regions within China. The exact boundary between these two regions is not precisely defined and only serve to depict where there appears to be regional differences between the climates ...

. The low-elevation forests of the foothills are dominated by temperate deciduous trees like oaks ('' Quercus acutissima'', '' Q. variabilis''), elm (''Ulmus'' spp.), common walnut (''Juglans regia''),

maple ''Acer'' () is a genus of trees and shrubs commonly known as maples. The genus is placed in the family Sapindaceae.Stevens, P. F. (2001 onwards). Angiosperm Phylogeny Website. Version 9, June 2008 nd more or less continuously updated since h ...

(''Acer'' spp.),

ash Ash or ashes are the solid remnants of fires. Specifically, ''ash'' refers to all non-aqueous, non-gaseous residues that remain after something burns. In analytical chemistry, to analyse the mineral and metal content of chemical samples, ash ...

(''Fraxinus'' spp.) and '' Celtis'' spp. Evergreen species of these low-elevation forests include broadleaf chinquapins (''Castanopsis sclerophylla''), ring-cupped oaks ('' Quercus glauca'') and conifers like '' Pinus massoniana''. At the middle elevations, conifers like '' Pinus armandii'' are mixed with broadleaf

birch A birch is a thin-leaved deciduous hardwood tree of the genus ''Betula'' (), in the family Betulaceae, which also includes alders, hazels, and hornbeams. It is closely related to the beech- oak family Fagaceae. The genus ''Betula'' cont ...

(''Betula'' spp.) oak (''

Quercus An oak is a tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' (; Latin "oak tree") of the beech family, Fagaceae. There are approximately 500 extant species of oaks. The common name "oak" also appears in the names of species in related genera, notably ...

'' spp.) and hornbeam (''

Carpinus Hornbeams are hardwood trees in the flowering plant genus ''Carpinus'' in the birch family Betulaceae. The 30–40 species occur across much of the temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Origin of names The common English name ''hor ...

'' spp.). From elevation, these mid-elevation forests give way to a subalpine forests of fir ('' Abies fargesii, A. chensiensis''), '' Cunninghamia'', and

(''Betula'' spp.), with rhododendron (''

Rhododendron fastigiatum ''Rhododendron fastigiatum'' is a dwarf lepidote rhododendron species with purple flowers native to Yunnan, China. Cultivars A cultivar is a type of cultivated plant that people have selected for desired traits and when propagated retain ...

'') abundant in the understory. The region is home to a large number of rare plants, of which around 3,000 have so far been documented. Plant and tree species native to the region include Ginkgo, thought to be one of the oldest species of tree in the world, as well as Huashan or Armand pine (''Pinus armandii''), Huashan shen ('' Physochlaina infundibularis''), ''

Acer miaotaiense ''Acer miaotaiense'' (syn. ''Acer miyabei'' subsp. ''miaotaiense'' (P.C.Tsoong) E.Murray) is a species of maple endemic to China. It grows in mixed forests of southeastern Gansu, southwestern Henan, northwestern Hubei, southern Shaanxi, and Zheji ...

'' and Chinese fir. Timber harvesting reached a peak in the 18th century in the Qinling Mountains. Home to the Qinling pandas, a sub-species of the

giant panda The giant panda (''Ailuropoda melanoleuca''), also known as the panda bear (or simply the panda), is a bear species endemic to China. It is characterised by its bold black-and-white coat and rotund body. The name "giant panda" is sometimes u ...

, which are protected in the region with the help of the Changqing and Foping

nature reserve A nature reserve (also known as a wildlife refuge, wildlife sanctuary, biosphere reserve or bioreserve, natural or nature preserve, or nature conservation area) is a protected area of importance for flora, fauna, or features of geological o ...

s, between 250 and 280 giant pandas live in the region, which is estimated to represent around a fifth of the entire wild giant panda population. The mountains are also home to the

golden takin The golden takin (''Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi'') is an endangeredgoat-antelope (takin), native to the Qin Mountains in China's southern Shaanxi province. Golden takins have unique adaptations that help them stay warm and dry during cold Himal ...

, golden pheasant,

golden snub-nosed monkey The golden snub-nosed monkey (''Rhinopithecus roxellana'') is an Old World monkey in the subfamily Colobinae. It is endemic to a small area in temperate, mountainous forests of central and Southwest China. They inhabit these mountainous fores ...

Temminck's tragopan The Temminck's tragopan (''Tragopan temminckii'') is a medium-sized, approximately 64 cm long, pheasant in the genus ''Tragopan''. The male is a stocky red-and-orange bird with white-spotted plumage, black bill and pink legs. The male's disp ...

, crested ibis,

golden eagle The golden eagle (''Aquila chrysaetos'') is a bird of prey living in the Northern Hemisphere. It is the most widely distributed species of eagle. Like all eagles, it belongs to the family Accipitridae. They are one of the best-known bird ...

blackthroat The blackthroat (''Calliope obscura''), also known as the black-throated robin or black-throated blue robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. It breeds in north-central China but its wintering grounds are uncertain. It has been ...

and

clouded leopard The clouded leopard (''Neofelis nebulosa''), also called the mainland clouded leopard, is a wild cat inhabiting dense forests from the foothills of the Himalayas through mainland Southeast Asia into South China. In the early 19th century, a ...

. The Chinese giant salamander, at the largest amphibian in the world, is critically endangered as it is collected for food and for use in

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of acti ...

. An environmental education programme is being undertaken to encourage sustainable management of wild populations in the Qin Mountains and captive breeding programmes have been set up.

Weapons of mass destruction

According to the Nuclear Information Project, China "keeps most of its nuclear warheads at a central storage facility in the Qinling mountain range, though some are kept at smaller regional storage facilities."

References

External links

{{Authority control Landforms of Shaanxi Mountain ranges of China Regions of China

Environment, flora and fauna

Weapons of mass destruction

See also

References

External links