Thousands of years ago, in the south of ancient China, there lived Shennong, a man who had an ox(牛) head and human body. Seeing that local people were suffering from disease, he built ladders and houses on a high mountain to store hundreds of medical plants. To remember him, people named the place shennongjia.
The legend(传说) makes Shennongjia in Hubei an inviting place for tourists. Traveling there is a unique experience, as you can see sceneries of the four seasons from different altitudes."When the bottom of the mountain is summer, the top is spring and while the foothill is autumn, the top is covered with ice," local people say of the special climate of Shennongjia.
Shennongjia is also home to 5,000 species of animals and plants. Many animals in danger live there, such as the golden monkey, the clouded leopard and the Asian black bear.
One interesting and mysterious thing about Shennongjia is its legend of wild men. Some people once claimed that they saw big prints or big-foot creatures. Yet so far, scientists haven't proved it is true and some say they are just bears.
The beautiful place has recently received a new title. On July 17, 2016, Shennongjia Forestry District was added to United Nations World Heritage list as a natural site. China now has 50 world heritage sites(遗址). Second only to Italy in the world.
