Get to know Shennongjia
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- Administrative area
- Forestry district · 林区
- Part of
- Hubei
- Chinese name
- 神农架林区
- Local areas
- Forestry district guide
Area & population
- Area in the source
- 3,253.00 km²
- Population · 2020
- 66,571
- Administrative seat
- Songbai
Source: cited geographic source, as of the dates shown.
Setting and landscape
The district is named after Shennong (神农), the legendary figure who tasted a hundred herbs to find cures and taught farming. The Daba Mountains (大巴山) cross it from west to east, and in Hubei it forms the first divide between the Yangtze and the Han River (汉水): the Xiangxi (香溪河) and Yandu (沿渡河) rivers drain to the Yangtze, the Nanhe (南河) and Duhe (堵河) to the Han. Forest covers 91.1 per cent of the land. The dove tree (珙桐) grows here, and golden snub-nosed monkeys are among the protected animals. Because its peaks stayed closed off and rarely visited for centuries, stories of a "wild man" (野人) grew up here.
History
Deep valleys and narrow passes made the area a stronghold for armies: the forces of Liu Tichun (刘体纯) and Li Laiheng (李来亨) in the early Qing, and later the White Lotus rebels and the Taiping. When a 198-kilometre trunk road was completed in October 1966, some of the road-building teams moved on to logging. The State Council made Shennongjia a county-level unit on 28 May 1970. Its nature reserve joined UNESCO's biosphere-reserve network in 1990, became Hubei Shennongjia National Park in May 2016, and Shennongjia was inscribed as a World Heritage site on 17 July 2016.
What to see
The Shennongding scenic area, a national 5A area inside the national nature reserve, rises from 1,500 metres to the summit and covers more than 800 square kilometres. Stops along its road include Dalongtan (大龙潭), Golden Monkey Ridge (金猴岭) and Banbiyan (板壁岩), and the Qingyun Ladder (青云梯) climbs 2,999 steps.
Dajiuhu (大九湖), at the western end of the district, is a subalpine wetland named for the nine lakes that form in the rainy season; it was the first stage within Shennongjia on the old salt road between Sichuan and Hubei. Guanmenshan (官门山), along the Shicao River (石槽河) south of the Muyu (木鱼) resort area, is a 5A area built around science displays, with a natural history museum, a wildlife rescue centre and a conservation garden for rare plants. The district seat, Songbai (松柏镇), is known as the "stone town in the forest sea".
Highlights
- Shennong Peak 神农顶: At 3,106.2 metres the highest point in Hubei; its scenic area is a national 5A area.
- Dajiuhu 大九湖: Subalpine wetland at the western end of the district, named for nine seasonal lakes.
- Guanmenshan 官门山: 5A science and nature area with a natural history museum and wildlife rescue centre.
Sources for this guide
大九湖景区 _ 旅游景点 _ 神农架林区人民政府 · Shennongjia Forestry District People's Government
神农顶景区 _ 旅游景点 _ 神农架林区人民政府 · Shennongjia Forestry District People's Government
官门山景区 _ 旅游景点 _ 神农架林区人民政府 · Shennongjia Forestry District People's Government
神农架林区 - 维基百科，自由的百科全书 · Wikipedia (Chinese) · CC BY-SA 4.0
Original English written from the listed sources and checked sentence by sentence against quoted extracts by a separate reviewer. Updated 2026-09-25.
Explore Shennongjia
Core places to explore, with English and Chinese names.
Places to explore around Shennongjia
A winter icefall on a cliff in the Shennongding area: a thick curtain of white and pale-blue ice hanging down a brown rock face, with icicles along the rock, snow-covered ground and banks of snow at its foot, and bare dark trees on the slope above.Shennongjia, Shennongding area神农架神农顶
Shennongding is a high-mountain scenic area within Shennongjia, with forests, exposed ridges and striking limestone forms. Shennong Valley and Banbiyan show different expressions of the region’s folded and eroded rock, while the…
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The wetland marshes of Dajiuhu, Shennongjia Forestry District · 神农架林区大九湖湿地 Source-recorded photograph date: Taken on 11 June 2011.Dajiuhu Wetland大九湖
Dajiuhu (大九湖) is a subalpine wetland basin at the western end of the Shennongjia Forestry District in Hubei, named for the nine lakes, large and small, that often form there in the rainy season.
Read the place guide →
Shennongding Scenic Area · 神农顶Shennongding Scenic Area神农顶
Shennongding (神农顶) is the core scenic area of the Shennongjia national nature reserve in the Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei, taking its name from the peak of 3,106.2 metres that the province calls the highest in central China.
Read the place guide →
Tianyan Scenic Area · 天燕Tianyan Scenic Area天燕
Tianyan (天燕) is a forest scenic area in the Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei, named after the two road passes it links, Yanziya and Tianmenya, and designated a national forest park.
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Sculptural gateway shaped like two golden snub-nosed monkeys over the road at the entrance to Guanmenshan Scenic Area, Shennongjia Forestry District · 湖北省神农架林区官门山景区大门，金丝猴造型雕塑拱门 Source-recorded photograph date: 2026-02-21 16:11:49.Guanmenshan Scenic Area官门山
Guanmenshan (官门山) is a science-education and conservation area along the Shicao River on the southern edge of the Muyu resort area in the Shennongjia Forestry District of Hubei, built around an eight-kilometre gorge.
Read the place guide →Local life & food
Shennongjia local specialties
神农架林区特色美食 · 7 specialties to discover
Shennongjia Cured Pork 神农架腊肉
Shennongjia Cured Pork (神农架腊肉) is the cured, smoked pork of the Shennongjia Forestry District (神农架林区) in Hubei. It is smoked over firewood with tangerine peel and fragrant wormwood, and is cooked in stir-fries and hotpots.
Read the dish guide →
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Lazy Tofu 懒豆腐Reference photo of a similar dish · 同类菜品参考照片
Lazy Tofu (懒豆腐) is a soybean-and-greens dish eaten in Shennongjia (神农架). Shennongjia News (神农架新闻网) describes it alongside cornmeal-based mianfan (面饭), a pairing particularly enjoyed by Tujia (土家) households in a mountain region that grows both maize and soybeans.
Read the dish guide →
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Cured Pork Braised in Corn Liquor 苞谷酒炖腊肉AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Cured Pork Braised in Corn Liquor (苞谷酒炖腊肉) is listed among the local specialties of Shennongjia, Hubei. The term 酒 points to an alcoholic or fermented drink. 腊 describes curing.
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Stir-Fried Cured Pork with Fermented Chilli Meal 渣广椒炒腊肉AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Stir-Fried Cured Pork with Fermented Chilli Meal (渣广椒炒腊肉) is cured pork stir-fried with zha guangjiao (渣广椒), a relish of chopped red chilli and cornmeal made by the Tujia (土家族) people.
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Free-Range Chicken Stewed with Wild Mushrooms 野生菌炖土鸡AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Free-Range Chicken Stewed with Wild Mushrooms (野生菌炖土鸡) is listed among the local specialties of Shennongjia, Hubei. The name includes 鸡 (chicken), 菌 (mushrooms). 炖 describes slow simmering.
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High-Mountain Potatoes 高山洋芋
High-Mountain Potatoes (高山洋芋) are the potatoes of Shennongjia (神农架), Hubei, known locally as yangyu (洋芋) and named on the Shennongjia Forestry District government portal as a local speciality.
Read the dish guide →Photo adjustments
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Honey Corn Cakes 蜂蜜玉米粑AI illustration · AI 示意图（仅供参考，非实拍）
Honey Corn Cakes (蜂蜜玉米粑) is listed among the local specialties of Shennongjia, Hubei. The name includes 玉米 (corn).
Read the dish guide →More dishes from across Hubei are in the Hubei food guide.
Plan your visit
Getting there
Search for 神农架林区 in a map app to find stations and your accommodation.
Where to stay →Build your route
Shennongjia, Shennongding area and Dajiuhu Wetland are both listed here. The linked place guides have entrance and visit details.
Continue with Hubei →More in Hubei
Sources & geographic information
Administrative names and parent areas: Official geographic directory · Reference date 2026-09-06.
Some facts checked against 神农架林区 — Wikipedia contributors, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photo: Shennongjia, Shennongding area · Liuxingy · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Dajiuhu Wetland · Z Zzl · CC BY 3.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Photo: Shennongding Scenic Area · Brookqi · Public domain. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Tianyan Scenic Area · Source photographer · License not provided. EXIF orientation normalized; resized without changing aspect ratio; converted to WebP. No subject edits.
Photo: Guanmenshan Scenic Area · Liuxingy · CC BY-SA 4.0. Full frame retained; proportionally resized and converted to WebP. No retouching or changes to the photographed subject. Card displays may crop the view.
Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors. Pins mark approximate centres, not entrances or boundaries.