The term "national park” in China covers a wider range of places than in many other countries. Chinese national parks, also known as "national scenic and historic interest areas,” include both the country's areas of scenic beauty and its historic preservation sites. From magnificent snow-capped mountains to sunny beaches, emperors' mausoleums to a 2,000-year-old dam, China has 225 national parks. This column brings them to you, with all their natural beauty and historical legends.

Taohuayuan, also known as "Peach Blossom Land,” is considered a land straight out of a fairy tale in Taoyuan County, Hunan Province. It is also a historical site with a history dating back more than 1,600 years. Today, the Taohuayuan National Park covers 158 square kilometers, of which the core scenic area is some 8 square kilometers.

Tao Yuanming, a famous poet in the Eastern Jin Dynasty (AD 317-420) described it in his poem, "A Portrait of the Peach Blossom Land.” "During the Jin Dynasty, a fisherman sailed on his small boat along this brook and happened to find a land full of peach blossoms,” Tao wrote.

According to the poet, Taohuayuan is utopia as it is remote and peaceful. Taohuayuan took on the meaning of utopia because of Tao's popular poems. Since then it has maintained its fame and attracted thousands of scholars and celebrities from all dynasties. Numerous social gatherings took place here.

It is a place of peace where the beauty of nature blends with human arts.

The scenic area has a dense growth of peach trees and evergreen trees with water in the front and some hills in the distance. When the peach trees are in full blossom, the area looks like a pastoral painting dotted with red and pink blooms.

There are large number of poetic inscriptions on stones, ancient pavilions and cultural relics.

Taohuayuan Scenic Area has been well developed in recent years. It's divided into Taoist Holy Land Taoyuan Hill, Taohua Hill, Qinren Village and Taoxian Ridge. The center of the scenic area includes Qinren Village, which is built according to the description of Tao Yuanming.

Extending from the center is the extraordinary landscape. The greatness of Mount Wuling, the rolling waters of Dongting Lake and other mountains and rivers. Moreover, there is also "Fishing Village at Sunset,” known as one of Eight Great Sights in Hunan.

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