Ruoliao Scenic Area Overview: Situated in the southwest corner of Songyang County, a thousand-year-old county in Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, Ruoliao Primeval Forest Scenic Area borders Da Tai Township, Longquan City to the south, and is 50 kilometers away from the county town. Leveraging the transportation network of Songyang County, the scenic area is accessible via the under-construction Longsong Highway (Longquan to Songyang) and Longli Highway (Longyou to Lishui). It connects to cities within Zhejiang Province and the Yangtze River Delta cities through highways such as Longli (Longyou to Lishui), Lilong (Lishui to Longquan), and Jin (Hua) Qu (Zhou) Li (Shui). Proximity to expressway exits includes Xiangxi and Songyang; the nearest railway station is Lishui Railway Station; the nearest port is Wenzhou; and the nearest airport is Wenzhou.
With a total area of over 40,000 acres, the scenic area boasts deep gorges, sheer cliffs, peculiar rocks, emerald mountains, alpine plateaus, cliff waterfalls, and clear deep pools. The forest coverage rate is 95%, and the negative oxygen ion content is 34,000 per cubic centimeter (with peaks over 100,000 per cubic centimeter). It is a natural oxygen bar with cold winters and cool summers. The scenic area is mainly divided into three major sections: 1. The Ruoliao Xian area, primarily featuring primeval forests and peculiar peaks and rocks, with the main peak Ruoliao Xian reaching an elevation of 1,502 meters, is the highest peak in Songyang and a spot for viewing sunrises and sea of clouds. Ancient records state: “Climbing to the summit allows one to see the beauty of seven counties.” Every May, thousands of acres of colorful monkey head rhododendrons bloom in competition, forming a “ten-mile flower sea” of monkey head rhododendron brocade, which is considered a world wonder and has been rated as one of the “Top Ten Scenic Spots in Zhejiang Green Valley.” Other main attractions include the stone figure emerging from the sea of clouds, the lifelike little bear looking at the pine, the “Fourteen Sisters” tree, thousand-year rhododendron forest, Huangshan pine forest, and the thirty-six stoves. 2. Ruoliao Valley, one of the “Top Ten Gorges of Zhejiang Green Valley” (mainly featuring clear pools and waterfalls), has streams and waterfalls scattered throughout, with clear springs and blue pools scattered like stars. The most peculiar are the “Yin-Yang Twin Waterfalls” (Dragon Waterfall – Fairy Waterfall). Other main water features include Hidden Spring, Water-Friendly Pool, Bathing Flower Pool, Nine-Tiered Waterfall, and Fish Exploring the Secluded. 3. The Red Ancient Stockade – Andai Hou Village, located on the southern slope of the scenic area, is layered with mountains and beautiful scenery, and has a strategic location. More than ten sites are still preserved today. The scenic area is rich in wild flora and fauna resources: it includes over 80 species of national protected plants such as the world’s precious and endangered plants represented by “Oriental Water Parsley” (a perennial small wet ancient fern that has existed on Earth for 300 million years, considered a world rare and endangered plant, “its value is no less than that of the Baishanzhu cold fir,” and currently only found in Ruoliao, with only a few hundred clumps, very rare), southern red sandalwood, and Bole tree, as well as over 1,000 species of wild animals represented by national first and second-level protected animals such as clouded leopards and black gibbons, over 700 species of wild precious Chinese medicinal herbs, and over 1,000 species of various original trees with ages of hundreds to thousands of years, making it a natural biological treasure trove in the East China region.The ‘beautiful and moving tree in Chinese forests’, Emmenopterys henryi, and the ‘largest Taxus chinensis in Zhejiang’ selected into the Zhejiang Agricultural Guinness Records – Taxus chinensis var. mairei, as well as the ‘white swan’ in the plant kingdom – Monotropa uniflora, which has the reputation of ‘beauty among flowers’, all grow here. There are also original forest landscapes such as continuous Zhejiang camellia forests, Podocarpus neriifolius forests, Fagus lucida forests, and Pinus taiwanensis forests. (Last year, Balanophora spicata, a miraculous medicine for hemostasis and detoxification in Chinese medicine, was discovered in Ruoliao Valley.) The Zhejiang Ruoliao Primeval Forest Scenic Area was invested and developed by Songyang Changyun Co., Ltd. in August 2000 and opened for business in May 2001. In November 2001, the scenic area was rated as a national AA-level tourist scenic area. In December 2006, it was rated as a national AAA-level tourist scenic area. In January 2013, it successfully created a national AAAA-level tourist scenic area. In July 2019, it was rated as a summer resort climate place in Zhejiang. Main facilities include small wooden houses (20 buildings), the main hotel of Ruoliao Mountain Villa, with a total of 170 beds; a tourist center of 200 square meters and a conference room for about 120 people; a catering building (with about 200 tables in total); one AAA toilet and one AA toilet; parking lots (a total of 5) of about 10,000 square meters; tourist trails (more than 30 kilometers), the highway from Likeng Village to the scenic area hotel (2 kilometers), the uphill highway (15 kilometers), and rest pavilions (5). There are also barbecue camping bases, swimming pools, folk experience workshops, chess and card rooms, and so on. Opening hours: Open all year round from 08:00 to 17:00. Preferential policies: Children: Children under 1.2 meters (excluding) are free; children between 1.2 meters (including) and 1.5 meters (excluding) are half price. Elderly: Elderly people aged 60 (including) to 70 (excluding) with old-age certification or ID cards are half price; elderly people aged 70 (including) or above with old-age certification or ID cards are free. Active servicemen: With valid certificates, they are half price. Disabled people: With valid certificates, they are free. Students: Full-time primary, secondary, and college students (excluding adult education and postgraduate students) with student ID cards are half price. Tour guides: With tour guide certificates, they are free. Members of Photographers Association: With valid certificates, they are free.
