Shennongding National Nature Reserve, Hubei, China

5Kari2003 5:00 PM Aug 19, 2018

Beautiful Scenery/Amazing Wildlife
My father and I visited Shennongjia National Nature Reserve as one of the preplanned excursion of our cruise ship, the Yangtze Explorer. This 5 Day Upstream Cruise was part of an amazing 15 Day trip booked with China Highlights. Shennongjia was a wonderful, FULL day excursion (10+hrs) and a great way to beat the summer heat on the Yangtze. Shennong Ding, the summit, was about 10,000 feet above sea level and the temperature there dipped to about 55F (compared to over 100F on the Yangtze River.) While hiking, I was comfortable in chopped yoga pants and a lightweight tee. Unfortunately, the day we went was very foggy, especially at the higher elevations and there was a mist in the air, but even in the fog, the walk to the top was well worth it. The highlight of our day in Shennongjia was seeing the golden snub-nosed monkeys. Because it is a research facility, they only allow a few foreigners each day. Being part of a cruise tour ensured that we’d be permitted visit these social creatures with no bars, no barriers. We wore camouflage coats to blend in with the researchers, whom the monkeys loved, because they brought food. Seeing the monkeys up close was amazing. The dominant male strolled strait through our group as he browsed the foliage for breakfast. We saw monkey mothers nursing while curious teenagers watched us from trees and then cautiously crept closer to the path. Acrobatic monkeys showed off swinging from tree to tree and babies swung clutching their mom’s stomach. We were given as much time as we watched to observe these wonderful creatures; the caretakers at the facility were very kind. Even with the language barrier, they tried to point out various features of the monkeys and the unique characteristics and personalities of each one. After eating a local lunch, we hiked down Flying Monkey Waterfall. It was a little steep (without railings) but it was very pretty and well worth your time if you are already in the park. There were several wider spots along the path for you to stop and photograph the scenery. We also visited the Stone Forest, where rocks balanced precariously on each other in unique formations. You could see many animal-like shapes as you walked through. If you want to visit Shennongjia and the golden snub-nosed monkey on your trip to China, I would definitely recommend booking an excursion. Shennongjia is quite far from other tourist sites along the Yangtze and the park itself is vast. Having a private car and driver at minimum will ensure you get to see everything you want in the time you have. There are parking lots at each main attraction area, but you will still be required to climb several flights of stairs and walk up to a mile at each site. Wear sneakers and pace yourself. At the higher elevation you may tire faster, depending on your fitness level.

4JPDM ????? 5:00 PM May 10, 2014

It has potential
The main drawback of this park is the difficulty to get to it. We needed to boat for 3 hours from Yichang then took the bus forever. Unfortunately the weather was terrible. It rained all the time and it was fogging. You obviously can't blame the park for this but it sure took away from the experience. We don't have a single good photo to show for our trip except a few close-ups of some rhododendrons. The only animals that was saw were in cages, that took a grand total of 5 minutes. We ended up spending 90% of our time on transportation and 10% seeing things. I guess it has great potential but as is often the case in this type of park in China, everything is well organized with paved roads, etc....