The Nature of Menghai

“In beautiful Xishuangbanna, a handsome young man named Zhao Shutun, the son of a local Dai chief, met the peacock princess flying from afar, and they fell in love,” goes a legend in Buddhist scriptures from India and Sri Lanka. For obvious reasons, the tale became quite popular in Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture, southwestern China’s Yunnan Province, and it also planted seeds of exploration in the heart of naturalist Liu Huajie.
Across the vast land of Yunnan, Menghai is far less known than globally celebrated Xishuangbanna, but a key component of the latter.
Menghai, located on the southernmost end of Yunnan, is a county under the jurisdiction of Xishuangbanna Dai Autonomous Prefecture. Its ancient name “Mengke” means “place where brave people live.”

However, the hidden corner attracted famed naturalist Liu Huajie, a professor in the Philosophy Department of Peking University, to visit and author a major book: A History of Menghai’s Native Plants.

The highest and lowest places in Xishuangbanna are both in Menghai County. Menghai features flat land in the middle and high mountains on the sides. Consequently, the temperature difference between day and night is huge.
The special climate zone and unusual local geomorphic and geographical characteristics enable Menghai to nourish extremely rich plant species, especially some relict, endemic, and ancient species that populate a colorful and splendid “botanical garden” in southern Yunnan. Many native wild plants are under special state protection, including Cibotium barometz, Alsophila costularis, and Brainea insignis.

From the perspective of natural history, this book highlights more than 400 species of plants from more than 120 families including bryophytes, lycophytes, monilophytes (ferns), and spermatophytes with detailed text and exquisite pictures, covering about one-twelfth of all the plants in Menghai.
The biodiversity of living species in Menghai was created through lengthy evolution and natural selection. Every species is the result of millions of years of evolution. Any damage to the ecosystem is irreversible.
For example, Menghai hosts several kinds of the world’s tallest and oldest tea trees, which are not only gifts of nature, but also a species in need of urgent protection.
In the book, Liu called for saving as many ancient tea trees in Menghai as possible, which would represent a major contribution to the conservation of an important natural heritage for humanity.

Another common tree in Menghai called Castanopsis mekongensis can grow as high as 25 meters. Liu recognizes the importance of thriving species alongside endangered plants because wide distribution evidences a central role in the local ecosystem.
As a philosophy professor, Liu analyzes the relationship between man and nature as well as the relationship between man and the plants from philosophical perspectives. He considers observation of plants a gateway to philosophical studies.
A History of Menghai’s Native Plants opens doors to exploration of nature while popularizing the idea that nature will always find a way to make you feel small. Liu’s original aspiration with the book was to convince those seeking enlightenment to protect nature by becoming part of it.