precious-postcards

Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas

Consisting of eight geographical clusters of protected areas within the boundaries of the Three Parallel Rivers National Park, in the mountainous north-west of Yunnan Province, the 1.7 million hectare site features sections of the upper reaches of three of the great rivers of Asia: the Yangtze (Jinsha), Mekong and Salween run roughly parallel, north to south, through steep gorges which, in places, are 3,000 m deep and are bordered by glaciated peaks more than 6,000 m high. The site is an epicentre of Chinese biodiversity. It is also one of the richest temperate regions of the world in terms of biodiversity.

http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1083

The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas represent a landscape of river gorges and high mountains.

The areas are situated in Yunnan Province, south-west China. The site consists of 15 protected areas (in eight geographic clusters) in the mountainous northwest of the Province. It extends over a total area of 1.698.400 ha, encompassing the watershed areas of the Yangtse (Jinsha), Mekong (Lacang) and Salween (Nujiang) rivers. 

The protected areas include:

- Gaoligong Mountain Nature Reserve

- Baimang Snow Mountain Nature Reserve

- Haba Snow Mountain Reserve 

- Bita Lake Nature Reserve

- Yunling Nature Reserve

- Gongshan Area

- Yueliangshan Area

- Pianma Area

- Meili Snow Mountain Area (on the postcard)

- Julong Lake Area

- Laowoshan Area

- Hongshan Area

- Qianhu Mountain Scenic Area

- Laojun Mountain Scenic Area 

http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/site.php?id=1083