Dabie Mountains
The Dabie Mountains are a major mountain range located in central China. Running northwest-to-southeast, they form the main watershed between the Huai and Yangtze rivers. The range also marks the boundary between Hubei Province and its neighbors of Henan and Anhui. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, the Dabie Mountains were a stronghold of the Chinese Communist Party and the location of the Eyuwan Soviet.
The western part of the Dabie Mountains has a low elevation of only, though there are a few peaks rising to. The eastern part is higher, averaging more than. The highest peak is Baimajian at, with several others topping including the high Tiantangzhai.
Landscape
The range is heavily forested and yields valuable bamboo as well as oak, particularly cork oak, making it China's chief cork-producing area. The region is median income in China, and subsistence agriculture is the heart of its economy with rice and tea predominating.The main transportation route across the higher range is from Macheng in Hubei to Huangchuan in Henan, through the Huai River valley. The main rail and road crossings go north from provincial capital Wuhan, through the lower elevations.
In 2009, the high-speed Hewu Passenger Railway opened, connecting Hefei and Wuhan along a short and direct route. It uses numerous tunnels when crossing the mountain range.
Other notable major railways lines that passes through the Dabie Mountains include the Beijing-Guangzhou high-speed railway that connects Beijing and Guangzhou via Wuhan. Numerous tunnels are used when crossing the mountain range between Zhumadian and Wuhan.