The Qianjiangyuan evergreen broad-leaf forest in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province is named the most beautiful forest in China. [Photo/WeChat account: khnews6660365]

The Qianjiangyuan evergreen broad-leaf forest in Quzhou, East China's Zhejiang province was recently named the most beautiful forest in China by the China Green Times, the first honor of its kind in Zhejiang.

The Qianjiangyuan National Forest Park reserves 1,550 hectares of native evergreen broad-leaved trees at low altitude, which is rarely seen around the world.

Research results from the Institute of Botany of the Chinese Academy of Sciences show that the forest is home to 1,426 species of spermatophyte, 2,053 kinds of higher plants, 237 kinds of birds, 58 kinds of animals, 26 kinds of amphibians, 51 kinds of reptiles, and 1,156 kinds of insects, 61 of which are rare or endangered species.

Its three major ancient tree communities, emmenopterys henryi, michelia skinneriana and lagerstroemia subcostata, boast large numbers and centralized distribution, again something rarely seen in China.

In 2014, a new species of wasp discovered in the forest was named one of the top ten newly described species in the world.

At present, the forest is constructed into a cutting-edge research platform for forest biodiversity and its response to climate change.

More than 186 papers based on the research in Qianjiangyuan evergreen broad-leaf forest have been published in top journals such as Nature Communication and Ecology.

The Qianjiangyuan National Forest Park reserves 1,550 hectares of native evergreen broad-leaved forest at low altitude. [Photo/WeChat account: khnews6660365]