The Songshan Mountains in central China's Henan Province, famous site for the ancient Shaolin Temple known to most westerners as the home of Chinese martial arts Kung Fu, is now in danger of damage from overmuch quarrying activities.

The quarrying industry have polluted ecological environment in the mountains with human garbage, dusty air and abundant leftover stone materials.

Meanwhile, the beautiful landscape and grand appearance of Songshan Mountains have been destroyed by the quarrying activities, leaving exposed mountain surface and destroyed forests. Visitors to the mountains as well as environment experts are calling for protection of the ecology in Songshan Mountains by banning quarrying activities there.

In the northern side hill of the mountains, a number of villages are conducting rock-digging with strong dynamite and huge quarrying machinery. The crushed rock was later sold at only 30 yuan (US$3.75) per cubic meter on market.

One villager "proudly" told Xinhua that "No matter how much stone a businessman want to purchase, we can surely satisfy his needs!"

There are over 20 quarries as such across the Songshan Mountains, said Meng Jiang, a former senior government official of Dengfeng City.

The Songshan Mountains is on the boundaries of three cities of Henan Province -- Dengfeng, Yanshi and Gongyi.

According to Meng, Dengfeng city has set up the Songshan Mountains National Forest Park to protect local natural resources, but it can do nothing to stop the quarrying activities in the northern side hill of the mountains because that part belongs to the other two cities.

Professor Zhou Kunshu of the Chinese Academy of Sciences urged local governments to further protect the Songshan Mountains which is not only a natural attraction, but also the core of Chinese Buddhism and Kung Fu culture.

Since both Paleolithic and Neolithic cultural relics have been found in the mountainous area of the Songhan Mountains, the mountains can also be seen as the cradle of the ancient Chinese culture, Zhou said.

However, bare rock of the quarry makes the cradle ugly, said Zhang Xinbin, a researcher of the Henan Academy of Social Sciences. "It's our responsibility to protect the Songshan Mountains. Its cultural status can't be replaced by any other mountains in China."

Economist Zheng Taisen has been studying the culture of the Songshan Mountains for years. He said the cultural environment of the mountains is deteriorating.

"The mountain view could be seen by most people in cities around it in the past, but now several skyscrapers break the ridge line and damage the natural beauty," the expert said.

Titled as the World Geological Park by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the Chinese State Council has included the Shaolin Kung Fu rooted from the Songhan Mountains in its first intangible cultural heritage list.

The Song Shan Mountains boasts not only the Shaolin Temple. Here can we also find the Songyang Academy, one of the four most important schools in ancient China, Zhongyue Temple, built in the Qin Dynasty (221-- 207 B.C.) and one of largest temple building groups in China, and the Yongtai Temple, China's oldest royal Buddhist nunnery.

(Xinhua News Agency June 8, 2006)