Qian’an Mud Forest National Geopark of Jilin

Qian’an Mud Forest National Geopark of Jilin is situated in the southwestern part of Qian’an County, Songyuan City, Jilin Province, 40 kilometres away from the county seat. It was designated as a national geopark by the Ministry of Land and Resources in 2009 and rated as a national AAA-level tourist attraction. Covering a total area of 112.9 square kilometres, the geopark boasts a wide range of landscapes: China’s only subsurface erosion mud forest landform, fossil sites and typical stratigraphic sections dating back to the Late Pleistocene epoch, Bronze Age ancient tomb clusters, Liao and Jin Dynasty ancient kiln sites, miniature fluvial landforms and marsh wetlands. The scenic area also integrates distinctive natural sights including Dabusu Lake, wetland ecosystems and nationally protected bird species.

This landform is unique in China and rarely seen worldwide. Subsurface erosion occurs when surface water seeps underground through cracks, merges with groundwater to form underground runoff, and eventually causes surface collapse, resulting in this extraordinary geological formation. The Mud Forest features countless jagged peaks crisscrossed by gullies. Its weirdly shaped landforms are rich in variety and unpredictable in changes, far exceeding ordinary earth forest landscapes. This special geomorphology provides an invaluable natural model for the study of subsurface erosion, water erosion, wind erosion, lake erosion and related geological disasters. It also carries great significance for researching the evolution of palaeoenvironment and palaeoclimate, as well as forecasting modern soil erosion and ecological changes.

A large and dense assemblage of fossil vertebrates has been unearthed from the Late Pleistocene Dabusu Formation where the mud forest developed. The finds include the first complete skeleton fossil of Bos primigenius ever discovered in China, a Class I national cultural relic. Other fossils include mammoth, woolly rhinoceros, Elaphurus menziesianus, aurochs, bison, wild horse, wild ass, tiger, camel, hyena, brown bear, freshwater snails and clams. Up to now, fossils of 19 species belonging to 18 genera, 12 families and 6 orders have been collected, among which 12 species are still living and 7 are extinct (excluding locally extinct species). The collection includes more than 70 individuals and over 600 specimens, covering the major members of the Mammoth-Woolly Rhinoceros fauna. Carbon-14 dating dates the fossils back to 20,530 years ago. This site ranks among China’s famous fossil localities of the Cenozoic Era.

The early Bronze Age tomb cluster here was listed as a provincial-level cultural relic protection unit in 2000. While sharing common features with other Bronze Age tombs at home and abroad, these graves have a distinctive feature: vertical burials without inner or outer coffins. A palaeoanthropology expert from the Chinese Academy of Sciences put it perfectly: "Hanging coffins in the south, vertical shaft burials in the north." This phrase vividly sums up the uniqueness of the tombs.

Microlithic cultural relics (stone arrowheads, pointed implements, scrapers, stone mullers, coarse red pottery, etc.), together with kiln sites and cultural remains of the Liao and Jin dynasties, have been found in the surface deposits of the mud forest.

Dabusu Lake hosts diverse wetland types, such as salt marshes, muddy marshes, reed swamps, peat wetlands and Carex sedge marshes. A total of 122 species of rare protected birds, including red-crowned cranes, white cranes and whooper swans, inhabit and migrate here. The rippling lake and boundless reed marshes make this a paradise for birds.

Qian’an Mud Forest National Geopark is a comprehensive destination integrating scientific investigation, popular science education, sightseeing and holiday recreation. It boasts high geological, ecological, aesthetic and cultural values. Its one-of-a-kind landforms fully demonstrate the wonders of nature, attracting numerous artists and tourists from home and abroad to paint and travel. A peerless natural wonder — the Mud Forest warmly welcomes you!