Shennongjia Biosphere Reserve

UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, inscribed 1990, in China. The Shennongjia Biosphere Reserve lies on the eastern branch of the Dabashan Mountains, which link the Tibetan Plateau in western China with the Yangtze Plain in the east. The area spans a large elevation range, from 420 metres in the lowest valleys to 3,106 metres at the highest peak, and therefore supports a wide spectrum of vegetation zones. Forests are protected and, with numerous vascular plant species and a population of the golden snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus roxellana), the reserve is considered a “Green Gene Pool of China”. Ecological tourism is the main economic sector in the reserve, and women are largely engaged in this work.