The forests in Hubei province's Shennongjia have inspired author Chen Yingsong to create his latest novel, Senlin Chenmo (The Forest Spoke Not a Word). [Photo provided to China Daily]

His home is near the woods.

Chen "naturally" adopted the style of magical realism to narrate the story and let the forest play an important role by including nearly 100 animals and plants, such as leopards, monkeys, birds, mushrooms and herbs that can be used to treat snake bites and diseases. He also delves into the phenology, geography, climate and imagination.

"It definitely transcends ordinary people's knowledge and conceptions of forests," he writes in the postscript.

"And the forest's descriptions account for at least one-sixth of the total length."

He says that's because of the richness of resources found in wild woods.

"I want to include as many plants and animals as possible," he says.

He likens old-growth forests to gods on Earth and to real utopias.

"The moment humans walked out of the forests, the woods naturally became a source of nostalgia for people."