Dabusu Mud Forest

On the eastern shore of Dabusu Lake, in the southwestern part of Qian’an County in the western Songnen Plain, lies a marvelous landform, a wonderful natural masterpiece. This is Qian’an Mud Forest National Geopark, famous at home and abroad for its rare subsurface erosion landform — the mud forest.

Qian’an Mud Forest National Geopark boasts abundant geological landforms and diverse ecological types. It features the unique subsurface erosion landscape unparalleled in China, fossil groups of organisms from the Late Pleistocene epoch, as well as miniature landscapes of various terrains, landforms and river systems. Visitors can also enjoy the rippling Dabusu Lake, boundless reed marshes and typical wetland bogs and swamps. It was officially approved as a national geopark by the Ministry of Land and Resources in 2009.

Besides magnificent natural scenery, Qian’an Mud Forest also boasts profound ethnic culture and simple, honest local customs. Covering an area of 112.9 square kilometres, the geopark offers delicious food and wine, distinctive ethnic traditions, breathtaking natural views and exceptionally hospitable local residents.

The Mud Forest Scenic Area is situated in the eastern part of the geopark and covers 7.5 square kilometres. It serves as the core zone of the national geopark. Here you can find the only subsurface erosion landform in China with a full range of morphological features, including gravity landforms, miniature geomorphic landscapes and fluvial landforms. Famous for its extraordinary geological features, the site was officially named "Qian’an Mud Forest" by Liu Tungsheng, academician of both the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

The scenic area preserves various geological relics formed by mud forest landforms. With sound natural ecology and abundant cultural and natural attractions, it is a comprehensive geopark. Geologists classify the mud forest as pseudo-karst or karst-like landform.

Located in the eastern part of the geopark and attached to the Mud Forest Scenic Area, it is well known for its unique artesian springs. The spring water is clear and sweet, rich in minerals and trace elements beneficial to human health. The area forms a miniature model of rivers flowing into the sea, presenting the whole course of a river from its upper, middle and lower reaches all the way to the estuary.

The formation of the subsurface erosion landforms fully demonstrates the magic of nature. The landform succession includes mud saucer depressions, mud sinkholes, mud caves, mud grikes, subsurface erosion gullies, mud bridges, mud stalagmites, beaded erosion funnels and wolf-tooth ridges, which fully illustrate the characteristics of subsurface erosion in the mud forest.