China (Sep 2024-25)
Between 2024 and 2025, we (sometimes together, sometimes just Artur) did a few herping trips across southern China, two to Mangshan Forest Park, two to Nankun Mountain, and one night in Shenzhen. Each trip was short and comes with its own special story.
Mangshan Forest Park
Mangshan vol. 1
Mangshan vol. 1 team
Our first ever trip to China was to Mangshan Forest Park in Hunan Province. It was just a quick visit, two days and one night, but it left a huge impression.
Mangshan is a lush mountainous reserve, famous for its waterfalls, dense forests, and astonishing biodiversity. It’s also the only home of one of the most mythical vipers in the world: the Mangshan pit viper (Protobothrops mangshanensis). That was, of course, our main target.
We didn’t succeed in finding it that time, but the forest rewarded us with plenty other treasures. Among the snakes we encountered were Trimeresurus stejnegeri, Lycodon flavozonatus, Pseudagkistrodon rudis, and Opisthotropis cheni. Frogs, such as Leptobrachium liui, Amolops ricketti, Brachytarsophrys popei, and Odorrana huanggangensis were abundant too. And to top it off, lizards like Acanthosaura lepidogaster crossed our path, and we managed to photograph some fascinating invertebrates too.
This short trip gave us a taste of what China had to offer and it made us want to come back for more.
Shenzhen
The next adventure was as fast-paced as it gets. We hopped on the MTR (Mass Transit Railway) to Shenzhen, hiked up Wutong Mountain, and herped until early morning hours. As the sun rose, we caught the first train back to Hong Kong. In Hong Kong, one might really struggle to find a restaurant open after midnight, but in Shenzhen, you can get most types of food all night long. Perfect for herpers!
Nankun vol. 1 & 2
We also visited Nankun Mountain twice. Conditions weren’t the best, and the herping itself was a bit slow, but the environment was stunning with towering forests and crystal clear streams everywhere in sight. A chunky Ovophis on one of the trips was definitely a nice treat.
Other than that, we didn’t see anything spectacular on either night, but we left with a strong feeling that Nankun has huge potential. It’s definitely a place we’ll be visiting again in the future. It was probably our best location in China for creepy crawlies so far!
Mangshan vol. 2
The most dramatic of the four trips came when Zhou invited Artur back to Mangshan. This time they had two nights, and again the target was the legendary Protobothrops mangshanensis.
The first night was painfully slow. Hours of hiking turned up almost nothing. And then, everything changed.
Artur was about to photograph a Chinese green pit viper (Trimeresurus stejnegeri) when he made a mistake. Despite years of handling and photographing venomous snakes, he got careless just for a short moment, and he didn’t point his light towards the snake while setting up the camera nearby. In an instant, he was bitten (interesting fact: a boy from a village was bitten by the same species that night, Artur met him in the hospital; and another stejnegeri attempted to strike at a herper who luckily wore hiking boots that protected them).
It was Artur’s first venomous snakebite ever.
Thanks to Zhou and Yio Liang, he was immediately rushed to the hospital.
The hospital staff took excellent care of him, and we’ll always be grateful for how fast and professional the treatment was.
To our surprise, the antivenom they used wasn’t specifically for Trimeresurus spp. Instead, Artur received four vials of Deinagkistrodon acutus antivenom, which is the standard practice in China for pit viper bites.
In China, species-specific antivenoms are not always available, especially for Trimeresurus species. Instead, hospitals follow a standardized guideline that often uses Deinagkistrodon acutus antivenom in combination with general anti-viper serum for green pit viper bites. This approach has proven effective and is considered safe.
The charts in the hospital listed exact dosages: for Trimeresurus stejnegeri, the protocol was 4 vials of Deinagkistrodon acutus antivenom along with 2 vials of anti-viper serum (mandatory). In Artur’s case, he was treated with the Deinagkistrodon acutus antivenom only, but it worked as the swelling and pain came under control quickly, and he was discharged the next morning.
Even though Artur didn’t fully recover at that point, he wasn’t ready to give up. The very next night they went back into the forest. The herping was still slow, with mostly more green pit vipers and some common frogs. He was exhausted, nearly asleep in the back seat while road cruising, with his torch scanning the slopes.
Then, fate stepped in. A big moth (see Antheraea sp. below) flew across the car’s headlights, and they stopped to photograph it (this is the second time a moth “pointed” to a snake we were looking for!). That little pause woke Artur up. Barely 50m further, he spotted something green on the slope and shouted for the car to stop.
And there it was.
The Mangshan pit viper.
The snake of his dreams, the legendary dragon of these mountains, coiled right in front of them. After all the setbacks, after the bite and nearly giving up, here it was.
The Mangshan pit viper (Protobothrops mangshanensis) is a huge snake species found only in a small region of southern Hunan and Guangdong. With its dazzling green, black and yellow pattern and its reputation of one of the rarest vipers in the world, it is a true icon. Sadly, it’s also critically endangered, threatened by habitat loss and poaching. Seeing one in the wild was more than a dream fulfilled, it was an absolute privilege. Artur will never forget that moment!
China is a country of immense biodiversity, breathtaking landscapes and interesting culture. Herping here is never just about the animals, it’s about the people, the FOOD (oh yes!), the mountains and the sense of discovery. We know this is just the beginning, and we can’t wait to see what future adventures will bring.
And finally, a huge thank you to our friend Zhou for always inviting us on his trips, for the countless hours spent together in the field and for being there when things got tough. None of these trips would have been the same without him.
Mangshan vol. 2 team
