The Three Parallel Rivers refer to the area in Yunnan Province where the Jinsha River, Lancang River, and Nujiang River, three major rivers originating from the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, run parallel from north to south for more than 170 kilometers. It is located in Yunnan Province, China, spanning 9 nature reserves and 10 scenic spots in Lijiang City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. The geographical coordinates are located between 98 ° E and 100 ° 30 ′ E longitude and 25 ° 30 ′ N and 29 ° N latitude, covering an area of 1.7 million hectares. Divided into 15 different protected areas, each of which can provide representative samples of the biodiversity and geological diversity of the Hengduan Mountains in all directions
After the boundary was revised in 2010, the core area covers an area of 960084 hectares and the buffer zone covers 816413 hectares. Here, the Three Parallel Rivers form a unique natural geographical landscape in the world where rivers flow together without intersecting. (Some scholars have also proposed that the region is actually a confluence of four rivers: Jinsha River, Lancang River, Nujiang River, and Dulong River)There are more than 210 families, 1200 genera, and over 6000 species of higher plants in the confluence of the three rivers; There are 44 Chinese endemic genera and 2700 Chinese endemic species, of which 600 are endemic to the Three Parallel Rivers region; There are 33 species of nationally rare and endangered protected plants such as bald cypress, poplar, and Chinese yew, and 37 species of provincial-level rare and endangered protected plants. The rare and endangered animals inhabiting the region include 77 national protected animals such as Yunnan snub nosed monkey, antelope, snow leopard, Bengal tiger, black necked crane, etc
In 1988, the Three Parallel Rivers were designated as the second batch of national scenic spots by the State Council. In July 2003, according to the selection criteria of world natural heritage, the three parallel rivers were included in the The World Heritage ListGeographical Environment
Location and Territory
Three Parallel Rivers refer to the area where the Jinsha River, Lancang River, and Nujiang River, three major rivers originating from the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, run parallel from north to south for more than 170 kilometers in Yunnan Province, China. It is located in Yunnan Province, spanning 9 nature reserves and 10 scenic spots in Lijiang City, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. The geographical coordinates are located between 98 ° E and 100 ° 30 ′ E longitude and 25 ° 30 ′ N and 29 ° N. The shortest straight-line distance between the Lancang River and the Jinsha River is 66 kilometers, while the shortest straight-line distance between the Lancang River and the Nu River is less than 19 kilometers
No. 10, Qiongyu Road, Liuku Town
Nujiang Museum, a world natural heritage with three parallel rivers
Landform
From the geographical location, the world natural heritage site with three parallel rivers is located in the southeast of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, which is a longitudinal valley of Hengduan Mountains extending to the south of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and transiting to the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. In terms of tectonic location, it happens to be located in the key area of the Hengduan Mountains giant intracontinental orogenic belt in the Tethys tectonic domain, which rapidly turns from east to west towards the Himalayas and southward. It is also a geological relic area where the Indian Plate collides and sutures with the Eurasian Plate At the same time, due to the lateral collision and compression of the eastern edge of the Indian plate, accompanied by a rotation towards the southeast, the nearly north-south transverse mountain range was pushed out and connected with the Himalayas, still slowly uplifting Therefore, the three parallel rivers are also the witness of the demise of the New Tethys Ocean, the uplift of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau and the the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau. They are the geological relic areas of various mountain and gorge landforms where mountains converge, mountains span from east to west, the three rivers are deep, and mountains and valleys alternate<40 million years ago, the collision between the Indian subcontinent and the Eurasian continent triggered a rapid compression, uplift, and cutting of the Hengduan Mountains. High mountains and large rivers alternated, forming a unique natural wonder in the world where three rivers ran parallel for 170 kilometers The elevation changes of the high mountains inside show a vertical zonal distribution, from the 760 meter Nujiang Dry Hot Valley to the 6740 meter Kawagebo Peak, gathering different types of landscape such as high mountain canyons, snow capped glaciers, plateau wetlands, forest meadows, freshwater lakes, etc. There are 118 snow capped mountains with an altitude of over 5000 meters in the Three Parallel Rivers region The main peak of Meili Snow Mountain, Kawagebo Peak, with an altitude of 6740 meters, is covered with a million year old glacier, which extends from the summit to the forest area of Mingyong Village at an altitude of 2700 meters. It is the most spectacular and rare low latitude, low altitude monsoon oceanic modern glacier in the world; Lijiang Laojun Mountain is also home to the largest and most developed Danxia landform landscape in China; There are dozens of famous high mountain lakes here, including the Tingyi Lake in Gaoligong Mountain, Lushui County, the Gan Di Yi Bi Lake, En Re Yi Bi Lake, Nianbo Yi Bi Lake near Qishu Mountain in Biluo Snow Mountain, Fugong County, Bitahai Lake, and Zhudu Lake in Zhongdian County, as well as several high mountain lake groups such as Qianhushan Lake Group, Laojunshan Lake Group, Hongshan Lake Group, and Laowoshan Lake Group The Three Parallel Rivers are located at the intersection of the three major geographical regions of East Asia, South Asia, and the Qinghai Tibet Plateau. The western region is influenced by the southwest monsoon climate of the Indian Ocean, the eastern region is influenced by the southeast monsoon climate of the Pacific Ocean, the northern region is influenced by the high-altitude climate of the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, the central region (the Lancang River Valley and Jinsha River Valley in Deqin County) is influenced by the Brahmaputra climate, and the southern region belongs to the semi humid climate of the central Yunnan Plateau The annual precipitation ranges from 4600 millimeters in the lower reaches of the Dulong River to 400 millimeters in Deqin Benzilan, with a difference of up to 4200 millimeters. Due to the large altitude difference, the vertical temperature variation is quite obvious, and the valley area belongs to subtropical or even tropical climate Among the three rivers, the Jinsha River is the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and ultimately flows into the East China Sea; The Lancang River is the upper reaches of the Mekong River, ultimately flowing into the South China Sea; The Nu River is the upper reaches of the Salween River, ultimately flowing into the Andaman Sea The Three Parallel Rivers are composed of the Nu River, Lancang River, Jinsha River and their mountain ranges, covering an area of 1.7 million hectares. Divided into 15 different protected areas, each of which can provide representative samples of the biodiversity and geological diversity of the Hengduan Mountains in all directions Gaoligong Mountain Area is a concentrated display area of plant species diversity in the Three Parallel Rivers region. Among them, the evergreen broad-leaved forest stretching from east to west is listed by the Biodiversity Committee of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in China's Biodiversity as "a key area of terrestrial biodiversity of world significance" and "an important type specimen origin" Gaoligong Mountain Area is a museum that showcases the typical geomorphic features of the Nujiang River Basin, including the "First Bay of the Nujiang River" and the geological landscape of the deep cut river bends in the surrounding areas. The Stone Moon scenic spot is a typical representative of the high mountain karst cave landscape in the Nujiang River Basin Meili Snow Mountain Area has typical geomorphic features and rich geological relics of the Lancang River Basin, and is also the original habitat of the flagship species of the "Three Parallel Rivers" - the Yunnan snub nosed monkey In the extension of the Yunnan Tibet Highway that crosses the protected area and surrounding areas, there are a large number of ancient deep-sea oceanic geological and biological relics, glacial and mountain building relics, and extensive glacial and permafrost landform development. It is a geological relic display area with a relatively concentrated "Three Parallel Rivers" World Heritage nomination site The Mingyong Glacier, which develops on the Kawagebo Peak, has an ice tongue that extends all the way to an altitude of 2650 meters. The surrounding green mountains and mixed coniferous and broad-leaved wet evergreen broad-leaved forests are well preserved in their original state, representing the typical diverse natural geographical features of the dry hot valley of the Lancang River is the lowest altitude glacier in the Northern Hemisphere and also one of the lowest latitude glaciers Haba Snow Mountain Area has the southernmost modern oceanic glacier in China's latitude and a typical complete natural landscape of the Jinsha River Basin's high-altitude vertical belt. Within a small spatial range, various vegetation types are concentrated, ranging from subtropical dry and warm river valleys to alpine cold zones Cold temperate coniferous forest is the most important ecosystem type in the mountainous ecosystem of Haba Snow Mountain Nature Reserve. This type of forest is characterized by rich and complex Chinese Himalayan components and is the most typical high-altitude coniferous forest protection area in the "World Heritage Nomination Site" High mountain glacial lakes (Black Sea, Yellow Lake, Bay Sea) reflect the glacial relics formed by the accumulation of water in ancient ice buckets during the Dali Ice Age. They are the distribution area of the "Dali Ice Age" glacial relics in the "Three Parallel Rivers" nomination area Qianhu Mountain Area is located in Xiaozhongdian Township, Shangri La County, Diqing Prefecture, including some areas of Xiaozhongdian Township and Shangjiang Township. It is one of the concentrated display areas of primitive vegetation and plateau lakes in the Jinsha River Basin Hongshan District includes typical plateau planation surfaces, complete ancient glacier relics with high mountain karst and other landform features in the Jinsha River Basin, as well as rich plant ecosystems, plateau lakes and other landscape types. It is a typical display area of the landscape resource value of the "Three Parallel Rivers" World Heritage nomination site. Among them, the geological landscapes of Ni Ru Nan Bao Grassland and Xiaoxue Mountain Yakou Plateau have typical significance Yunling area is located between the Lancang River and its tributary Tongdian River in Lanping County, Nujiang River. Mainly protect wild animals represented by Yunnan snub nosed monkeys and their habitats The Three Parallel Rivers area is located downstream of the Jinsha River Basin within the scope of the "Three Parallel Rivers", mainly including the "Plateau Ice Erosion Lake Group" in the Jinsha River Basin. The "Liming Liguang Danxia Landform Area" is a typical representative area for the concentrated development of high-altitude Danxia landforms in the nominated area of the "Three Parallel Rivers" and a demonstration area for the display and standardized protection and management of scenic spots in the Jinsha River Basin Laowo Mountain Area is located in the lower reaches of the Lancang River Basin, Weixi Lisu Autonomous County of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, and in the middle of the west bank of the Lancang River and Weideng Township. It is a supplementary area of landscape resources in the Lancang River Basin, with high mountain lakes, plateau meadows, and wild flower resources as the protection focus. The main attractions include Xinhua Lake, Laowo Mountain High Mountain Ice Lake Group, Lancang River secondary tributaries such as Laluo River, Hongyandong Cave Cave, and Lidingdi Wild Flowers, which are still in the primitive and undeveloped stage. The Three Parallel Rivers region is known as the "world's biological gene bank", accounting for less than 0.4% of China's land area, But it has over 20% of the country's higher plants and 25% of the country's animal species There are over 210 families, 1200 genera, and 6000 species of higher plants in the Three Parallel Rivers region; There are 44 Chinese endemic genera and 2700 Chinese endemic species, of which 600 are endemic to the Three Parallel Rivers region; There are 33 species of nationally rare and endangered protected plants such as bald cypress, poplar, and Chinese yew, and 37 species of provincial-level rare and endangered protected plants The rare and endangered animals inhabiting the Three Parallel Rivers area include 77 national protected animals such as Yunnan snub nosed monkey, antelope, snow leopard, Bengal tiger, black necked crane, etc The Jinsha River, Lancang River, and Nujiang River flow together without intersecting, and their deep canyons are outstanding natural features of the heritage site. The Three Rivers interface is located outside the heritage boundary, and the Chuanxia is the main scenic element of the region. Minyongka Glacier: Its altitude drops from Mount Kawajibu (6740 meters) to 2700 meters, making it the glacier with the lowest altitude drop in the Northern Hemisphere at this low latitude (28 ° N). Other scenic landforms include glacial karst (especially the moon stones in the Moon Mountain Scenic Area above the Nujiang Canyon) and the Alpine style Danxia weathering layer "turtle shell"<216. For the evolution and ongoing changes on the surface of the Asian continent, these are the main geological events. The diversity of rock types in this region records this history, and the karst terrain, granite giant monazite, and Danxia sandstone landforms in the alpine zone cover several of the world's best mountain types On July 17, 2018, the People's Government of Yunnan Province issued the "Several Provisions on Strengthening the Protection and Management of the Three Parallel Rivers World Natural Heritage Sites in Yunnan Province", which will accelerate the ecological environment protection work of the Three Parallel Rivers World Natural Heritage Sites. The people's governments of the states, cities, counties, and districts where they are located should strictly control the development intensity within the Three Parallel Rivers World Heritage Sites to prevent excessive development and construction. Within the Three Parallel Rivers heritage site, it is strictly prohibited to construct any other engineering facilities except for necessary protective and public service facilities From 1911 to 1950, British botanist and geographer F. Kingdon Ward conducted eight expeditions to Southeast Tibet, Northwest Yunnan, and Southwest Sichuan. amongClimate characteristics
Hydrological characteristics
Regional Scope
Overview
Gaoligong Mountain Area
Meili Snow Mountain Area
Haba Snow Mountain Area
Qianhu Mountain Area
Hongshan District
Yunling area
Laojun Mountain Area
Laowo Mountain Area
Protection Objectives
Overview
Plants
Animals
Management Measures
Development and Construction
Discovery Process