The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It is located in the drainage basins of the upper parts of the Jinsha (Yangtze), Lancang (Mekong), and Nujiang (Salween) rivers, which are part of the Hengduan Mountains in Yunnan province.
Geography
The protected areas include 15 core regions covering a total of 939,441.4 hectares and buffer zones totaling 758,977.8 hectares across a region that is 180 kilometers wide and 310 kilometers long. In this area, three major rivers in Asia flow nearly parallel to each other for more than 300 kilometers, separated by high mountain ranges with peaks exceeding 6,000 meters. After this area where the rivers are close together, their paths change significantly: the Nujiang River becomes the Salween River and flows into the Indian Ocean near Moulmein, Burma; the Lancang River becomes the Mekong River and flows into the South China Sea near Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and the Yangtze River flows into the East China Sea at Shanghai. In 2003, several nature reserves and scenic areas in this region were given World Heritage Site status because of their high level of biodiversity and unique variety of landforms.
To the west of the three rivers, the N'Mai River, a major tributary of the Irrawaddy River, flows through a deep river gorge. About 100 kilometers to the west and northwest lies the Lohit River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River, which is part of the larger Ganges-Brahmaputra river system. In this mountainous area, the headwaters of five important rivers in Asia meet: from east to west, they are the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Irrawaddy, and Ganges-Brahmaputra rivers. These rivers are among the top 15 rivers in Asia by length or water volume.
According to the UNESCO World Heritage Site description, the area has a wide range of landforms, including deep gorges, karst landscapes, and glaciers, because it is located where tectonic plates collide. Due to its varied topography and location, the Three Parallel Rivers region has many different climates. Annual rainfall averages 4,600 millimeters in the Dulongjiang area of Gongshan County and as low as 300 millimeters in the upper valleys of the Yangtze River.
Culture
The Three Parallel Rivers has been recognized as a natural World Heritage Site. The area includes many of the twenty-five ethnic groups found in Yunnan province, such as the Derung, which is the smallest minority group in China. Other groups living there include the Tibetan people, the Nu people, the Lisu, the Bai, the Pumi, and the Naxi. Many of these groups still wear traditional clothing as part of their everyday lives.
Nearby, in the same region as the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, is the Old Town of Lijiang. This location is also a World Heritage Site.
Protected areas
The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas includes fifteen protected areas, organized into eight groups of areas. These areas are:
- The three separate parts of the Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve
- Haba Xueshan Nature Reserve, which includes the Tiger Leaping Gorge
- Shangri-La County
- Yunling Nature Reserve
- Gongshan Scenic Area
- Yueliangshan Scenic Area in Fugong County (also called Stone Moon Mountain)
- Pianma Scenic Area in Lushui County
- Baima-Meili Xue Shan—Meili Snow Mountain Range Reserve, which has the highest peak in the protected areas at 6,740 metres (22,110 ft)
- Julong Lake Scenic Area, in Deqin County
- Laowoshan Scenic Area, in Fugong County
- Hongshan Scenic Area, which is part of Pudacuo National Park in Shangri-La County
- Qianhushan (Thousand Lake Mountain) Scenic Area, in Shangri-La County
- Laojunshan Scenic Area, in Lanping Bai and Pumi Autonomous County
Flora and fauna
UNESCO describes the Three Parallel Rivers as "possibly the most biologically diverse temperate region on Earth." The protected areas contain about 6,000 plant species, 173 mammal species, and 417 bird species. Many of these plants and animals are found only in this region.
The protected terrestrial ecoregions are mostly covered by temperate forests with coniferous and broadleaf trees. These areas are home to around 6,000 plant species, many of which are unique to the region. Over 200 types of rhododendron and more than 100 species of gentians and primulas grow there.
The area includes 173 mammal species, 81 of which are endemic, and 417 bird species, 22 of which are endemic. Some mammals found here are the black snub-nosed monkey, Indian leopard, snow leopard, clouded leopard, Gaoligong pika, Gongshan muntjac, Chinese shrew mole, capped langur, stump-tailed macaque, Asiatic wild dog, black musk deer, takin, smooth-coated otter, hoolock gibbon, Asian black bear, and red panda.
Rare bird species in the area include the chestnut-throated partridge, Lady Amherst's pheasant, white-eared pheasant, Yunnan nuthatch, giant nuthatch, white-speckled laughingthrush, ferruginous duck, Severtzov's grouse, brown-winged parrotbill, Ward's trogon, black-necked crane, and Verreaux's monal-partridge.