National Parks Forest Parks in Hangzhou

During spring's warmest days, besides the beautiful West Lake, some forest parks in Hangzhou are also great for hiding out in the shade.

Xishan National Forest Park
Approximately 10 kilometers to Hangzhou’s downtown, the park is divided into three parts and covers a total area of 1775.2 hectares. With a forest coverage of 93.4%, an average temperature of 16.2?, and an average humidity of 80 percent, it is the most important ecological protective screen in Hangzhou.

The park is abundant in resources. There are ancient literati verses, ditties, odes, songs, and inscriptions on precipices. It has a long tea history with the famous black tea Jiu Qu Hong Mei, and the West Lake Longjing Green Tea, which tops the Chinese Ten Renowned Teas. Moreover, there is also Ruyi Peak, the highest peak in Hangzhou city; Lingshan Cave, the solely karst cave in Hangzhou city; and White Dragon Fall, the only big natural fall in Hangzhou.

Wuchao Mountain National Forest Park
The park is located in the western suburb of Hangzhou, covering a total area of 253.33 hectares, with a forest coverage of 98.2%, and an altitude of 497 meters. During every season, different trees and flowers can be seen flourishing in every section. With a negative ion exponent of 4,000 per square centimeters, it is said to be the largest forest oxygen bar in Hangzhou, as well as an activity space for Hangzhou citizens’ daily fitness regime.

Parrot Rock, also called Bird Rock, is a huge parrot-shaped rock which, weighing dozens of tons, waggles in the wind but still manages to stay steady on the mountaintop. There is also Wuchao Well, under the main peak of Wuchao Mountain, which between 11 p.m. and 1 a.m. gushes like tides and sounds like thunder.

Banshan National Forest Park
Banshan National Forest Park is situated in the north of Hangzhou and is composed of three big parks, Banshan, Longshan and Hushan, all of which cover a total area of about 172 hectares. It has a forest coverage rate of over 90%, an average temperature of 16.5 degrees, and an average humidity of 80%. There are 671 kinds of plants, 5 kinds of national protected plants, and 14 kinds of the second level of national key protected animals. It is also one of the best ecological intact mountain bodies in Hangzhou.

Tonglu Daqi Mountain National Forest Park
The park has a total area of 700 hectares and a forest coverage of 97% with its highest peak reaching 1108 meters above sea-level. There is a valley in the east called “Shijingyuan” which is more than 10 kilometers long and has waterfalls and deep ponds along it.  There is also a spring in front of the Daqi Zen Temple where the daily flux reaches 1 ton and has high-quality sodium bicarbonate spring water. There are a lot of scenic spots in the park that are rich in ecological cultural connotations.

Lin’an Qingshan Lake National Forest Park
There are six sections in the park which cover a total area of 2671.5 hectares with a forest coverage of 82.8%. Qingshan Lake, which covers a water area of 820 hectares, is a large-scale artificial lake. It has a forest within the lake with an area of 100 hectares fostered from pond cypresses and swamp cypresses introduced in the 1960’s.  The park has four kinds of national key protected plants and 30 kinds of key protected animals. It is also equipped with parasailing entertainment.