A vertical apiary in China has recently made the headlines as the 'home of Chinese bees'.

The unusual apiary is found in the mountains of Shennongjia Nature Reserve in Hubei, central China, reported People's Daily Online

Unlike other bee farms, more than 700 hives of this apiary is situated on a cliff-face at 4,000 feet above sea level.

Photographs of the incredible bee hives show the wooden structures stuck to the cliff-face like bird's nest. They are densely packed on the cliff-face and, with the impact of weather, have started to blend into the background.

Local farmers were said to have built the hives with the aim of attracting more bees into the area, though it's not known why they chose a cliffface rather than the ground.

According to reports on Chinese new site Xinhua.net, in China's north and north east, Chinese bees are already extinct. They have also been dwindling in numbers elsewhere.

The farmers thought that having a pre-established empty hive would encourage bees to move into the area and it seems to have had some success. Shennongjia Nature Reserve has already been dubbed the home of Chinese bees thanks to their initiative

The nature reserve is unique in that its location in China allows it to have several climate zones. They are classed as subtropical, warm temperate temperate and cold temperate.

These different climates reflect different areas in China, which in turn makes it possible for flora and fauna from different parts of China to grow in one place.

According to statistics, there's over 1,000 different species of plants growing in the area. There are also 54 different kinds of animals, including the rare Golden Snub-nosed Monkey, which can only be found in the temperate forests of central China.

For this reason, Shennongjia Nature Reserve is listed in Unesco's network of Biosphere Reserves.