Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions have long guided the protection of plants and wildlife in a nature reserve on Tianmu Mountain in eastern China.
Local temples enforced strict rules and punishments against forest destruction, but, following the reserve’s recent expansion, state regulations now provide the formal legal framework for the area. Local officials say religious traditions from the past continue to shape public attitudes, reports contributor Keith Anthony Fabro for Mongabay.
The Qingliangfeng National Nature Reserve, located on the eastern coast of China, expanded from 4,300 hectares (10,630 acres) to become the 54,700-hectare (135,170-acre) Tianmushan-Qingliangfeng UNESCO World Biosphere Reserve in 2025. It represents a landmark expansion, the first of its kind in China.
Long known as the “kingdom of big trees” and home to the ancient, endangered Ginkgo biloba, the biosphere reserve is a crucial biodiversity haven for thousands of species including the Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), black muntjac (Muntiacus crinifrons), Chinese golden larch (Pseudolarix amabilis) and Tianmu ironwood (Ostrya rehderiana).
Religion has been one of Tianmu’s most steadfast guardians, like many mountainous regions in China, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
“This place is special not only because of its nature,” Lu Senhong, head of the publicity and education division at the Tianmu National Nature Reserve Administration Bureau, told Mongabay in an interview. “It is also because people here have long believed that every tree, flower, and bird carries a spirit. That respect has kept the mountain alive.”
Today, the administration formally manages the now expanded reserve, but its 10-year management plan (2023–2032) was developed alongside local communities, according to UNESCO. The reserve is split into core, buffer and transition zones, with the latter home to 47,340 residents across 41 villages. The co-management approach seeks to resolve historical land-use and compensation disputes, such as a 2001 lawsuit filed by 243 households from Bao Family Village over restrictions in protected areas.
Local residents hold decision-making power over ecotourism and sustainable industries development in the area, aligning economic incentives with ecological health.
Park authorities and religious institutions are also trying to get younger generations to run homestays or work in tourism rather than farming.
“They [young people ] know ecotourism needs a healthy environment,” Senhong told Mongabay. “So, protection and livelihood are aligned.”
But the reserve is battling pine wilt , a disease that kills pine trees. Additionally, scientists are analyzing how climate warming has shifted forest composition, increasing the abundance of evergreen trees that normally grow at lower and warmer altitudes.
Ultimately, by looking to the past, authorities say traditions offer lessons about how to relate to and protect remaining key biodiversity sites. “For Taoists and Buddhists, harmony between humans and nature is fundamental,” Senhong said. “You must respect them and take care of them.”
Read the full story by Keith Anthony Fabro here.
Banner image: For more than a millennium, a mix of Buddhist, Daoist and Confucian traditions guided protection of plants and wildlife in this lush reserve. Image courtesy of UNESCO.
