The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (Chinese: 云南三江并流; pinyin: Yúnnán Sānjiāng Bìngliú) is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Yunnan province, China. It is found in the regions where the Jinsha (Yangtze), Lancang (Mekong), and Nujiang (Salween) rivers flow, within the part of the Hengduan Mountains that lies in Yunnan.
Geography
The protected areas include 15 core regions totaling 939,441.4 hectares and buffer zones totaling 758,977.8 hectares. These areas cover a region that is 180 kilometers long and 310 kilometers wide. In this area, three major rivers in Asia flow next to each other but are separated by high mountains with peaks over 6,000 meters. After this area where the rivers almost meet, the rivers move far apart: the Nujiang River becomes the Salween and flows into the Indian Ocean near Moulmein, Burma; the Lancang River becomes the Mekong 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, selected nature reserves and scenic areas in this region were given World Heritage Site status because of their rich biodiversity and varied landforms.
A river gorge of the N'Mai River, a main tributary of the Irrawaddy River, runs parallel to the three rivers slightly to the west. About 100 kilometers to the west and northwest is the Lohit River, a tributary of the Brahmaputra River and part of the larger Ganges-Brahmaputra system. In this mountainous region, the headwaters of five major rivers in Asia meet: from east to west, they are the Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Irrawaddy, and Ganges-Brahmaputra. These rivers are among the top 15 rivers in Asia by volume or length.
According to UNESCO, the area has a wide range of landforms, including gorges, karst features, and glacier-covered peaks, because it is where tectonic plates collide. The region’s topography and location create many different climates. Annual rainfall averages 4,600 millimeters in the Dulongjiang area of Gongshan County but is 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 is home to many of the twenty-five ethnic groups found in Yunnan province, including the Derung, who are the smallest minority group in China. Other groups living in this region include the Tibetan people, the Nu people, the Lisu, the Bai, the Pumi, and the Naxi. Many of these groups continue to wear traditional clothing as part of their daily lives.
Nearby, in the same area as the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, is the Old Town of Lijiang. This town is also a World Heritage Site.
Protected areas
The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas includes fifteen protected areas, organized into eight groups. These areas are:
- Three sections 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, reaching 6,740 meters (22,110 feet)
- Julong Lake Scenic Area in Deqin County
- Laowoshan Scenic Area in Fugong County
- Hongshan Scenic Area, 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 area as "possibly the most biologically diverse temperate region on Earth." This protected area is home to 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 area includes large sections of temperate coniferous and broadleaf forests. These forests support around 6,000 plant species, many of which are unique to the region. Over 200 types of rhododendron, more than 100 species of gentians and primulas, and other plants grow in these forests.
The area is also home to 173 mammal species, 81 of which are found nowhere else. These include 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.
Among the bird species in the area are 417 types, 22 of which are endemic. These 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.