Three Parallel Rivers

An aerial view of the early winter scenery at Shangri-La National Park in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, Southwest China's Yunnan Province, Nov. 15, 2023. ( Taste all China /Hu Zunhui) Shangri-La National Park, located in Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture in southwest China's Yunnan Province, is the first national park on the Chinese mainland. In the early winter, the park's alpine forests, lakes, wetlands, and meadows form a captivating landscape, attracting many visitors to this wonderland. Nestled in the mountains in the southeastern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Shangri-La National Park is part of the Three Parallel Rivers Scenic Area, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of China's most popular tourist destinations. Spanning 1,477 square kilometers, the park is a key area for biodiversity and water conservation in the Northwest Yunnan Plateau, as well as an area where three of the world's major biodiversity hotspots converge. The park is considered a world-class gene bank for species, with significant global biodiversity conservation and national representative display value. Famous for its pristine landscape, the park boasts abundant natural resources and is home to rare animals and plants. It supports sustainable development, providing economic benefits to local communities through park-related jobs and ecotourism.…

The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areasis a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It lies within the drainage basins of the upper reaches of the Yangtze (Jinsha), Mekong (Lancang) and Salween (Nujiang) rivers, in the Yunnanese section of the Hengduan Mountains. The protected areas extend over 15 core areas, totaling 939,441.4 ha, and buffer areas, totaling 758,977.8 ha across a region of 180 km by 310 km. Here, for a distance of over 300 km, three of Asia’s great rivers run roughly parallel to one another though separated by high mountain ranges with peaks over 6,000 meters. After this area of near confluence, the rivers greatly diverge: the Nujiang River empties out at Moulmein, Burma, into the Indian Ocean, the Mekong south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, into the South China Sea and the Yangtse flows into the East China Sea at Shanghai. Selected nature reserves and places of scenic beauty in this unique region were collectively awarded World Heritage Site status in 2003 for their very rich biodiversity and outstanding topographical diversity.In its description, UNESCO mentions: “(It) may be the most biologically diverse temperate region on earth” and “An exceptional range of topographical features – from…

The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areasis a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It lies within the drainage basins of the upper reaches of the Yangtze (Jinsha), Mekong (Lancang) and Salween (Nujiang) rivers, in the Yunnanese section of the Hengduan Mountains. The protected areas extend over 15 core areas, totaling 939,441.4 ha, and buffer areas, totaling 758,977.8 ha across a region of 180 km by 310 km. Here, for a distance of over 300 km, three of Asia’s great rivers run roughly parallel to one another though separated by high mountain ranges with peaks over 6,000 meters. After this area of near confluence, the rivers greatly diverge: the Nujiang River empties out at Moulmein, Burma, into the Indian Ocean, the Mekong south of Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, into the South China Sea and the Yangtse flows into the East China Sea at Shanghai. Selected nature reserves and places of scenic beauty in this unique region were collectively awarded World Heritage Site status in 2003 for their very rich biodiversity and outstanding topographical diversity.In its description, UNESCO mentions: “(It) may be the most biologically diverse temperate region on earth” and “An exceptional range of topographical features – from…