Three parallel rivers of Yunnan

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Three parallel rivers of Yunnan
UNESCO world heritage UNESCO World Heritage Emblem
Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas map01.png
Location of the three parallel rivers on a map of China
National territory: China People's RepublicPeople's Republic of China People's Republic of China
Type: nature
Criteria : vii, viii, ix, x
Reference No .: 1083
UNESCO region : Asia and Pacific
History of enrollment
Enrollment: 2003  (session 27th)

The Three Parallel Rivers ( Chinese  三江 并 流 , Pinyin Sānjiāngbìngliú  - "Three Parallel Rivers ") of Yunnan are a Chinese nature reserve , a Chinese national park and since 2003 a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the mountainous northwest of the Chinese province of Yunnan . Here, three of Asia's largest rivers - the Yangtze , the Mekong and the Saluen - flow almost parallel to one another and separated from one another by high mountain ranges.

The name of the nature reserve is the Three Parallel Rivers Nature Reserve in Yunnan ( 云南 三江 并 流 保护 区 , Yúnnán Sānjiāngbìngliú bǎohùqū , English Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas ) and the national park is called the Three Parallel Rivers National Park ( 三江 并 流 风景 名胜 区 , Sānjiāngbìngliú fēngjǐng míngshèngqū , English Scenic Area of ​​the Three Parallel Rivers ).

In 2003 the area was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. In the description of the area, UNESCO notes that it is probably one of the most biologically diverse regions in the temperate zone and, due to its location on the edge of two tectonic plates, also an unusual geological diversity - from ravines and karst areas to glacier-covered mountain peaks - having. Due to its geographical location, the area extends over several climatic zones and several biogeographical regions, forming a biogeographical convergence zone . It is home to a large number of sometimes rare and endemic plant and animal species.

topography

Meili snow mountains

The world heritage site in northwest Yunnan is located on the eastern edge of the highlands of Tibet , which curves here to the south and is divided into several steep and glaciated mountain ranges, the Hengduan Mountains . Over a length of 300 km, the Yangtze, Mekong and Saluen gorges up to 2000 m deep flow side by side almost parallel in a north-south direction. They are separated from each other by the mountain ranges of the Hengduan Mountains, some of which have peaks over 6000 m high. These are the Gaoligong Shan on the border with Myanmar , the Nu Shan , which consists of the Meili Xueshan , the Biluo Shan and the Laowo Shan , the Baimang-Yunliang Shan and the Laojun Shan as well as the lower Qianhu chains in the east Shan and Hong Shan .

The rivers diverge widely to the south of the area, with the Saluen flowing into the Indian Ocean at Moulmein in Myanmar , the Mekong flowing into the South China Sea south of Ho Chi Minh City and the Yangtze flowing into the East China Sea near Shanghai .

The area, the extent of which is 310 km in north-south direction and 180 km in east-west direction, borders Myanmar to the west, Sichuan Province to the east and Tibet to the north. Of the total size of more than 1,698,400 hectares, the 15 specially protected core zones comprise 939,441.4 hectares (55.3%), the buffer zones make up 758,977.8 hectares (44.7%) (in 2010 the zones were expanded again to 960,084 ha core zone and 816,413 ha buffer zone). The protected areas are in the Dêqên Autonomous District of the Tibetans, in the Nujiang Autonomous District of the Lisu, and in the area of ​​the prefecture-level city of Lijiang .

The western mountain ranges consist of cloud and cloud forests on the high slopes , which take on a tropical character towards the south . The northern mountain regions are bare and covered in snow. Here, near the Tibetan border, is the region's highest mountain, the Kawagebo in the Meili Mountains, from which the southernmost glacier in China, the Mingyongqia , extends. There are 118 peaks that are higher than 5000 m. The lowest point in the area is 760 m above sea level.

Sub-areas

The upper reaches of the Yangtze just behind the Tiger Leaping Gorge

The area includes the following protected areas:

Protected position

National parks were established in the Gaolingong Mountains and the Baimang Snow Mountains as early as 1983. In the following year, further designations of nature reserves followed at the provincial level on Bita and Napa Lakes, in Haba Xueshan and in Yunling Shan. The Baimang and Haba reserves were set up to protect the black snub nose , an endemic species of monkey. In 1986 the reservation in Laojun Shan followed. In 2000, a plan to protect the area was then forwarded to the central government and the area was nominated as a UNESCO biosphere reserve. In 2003 it was registered as a World Heritage site based on the four criteria of particular scenic beauty (vii), particular geological significance (viii), particular ecological and evolutionary significance (ix) and particularly pronounced biodiversity (x).

geology

The World Heritage Site is located in an orogenetic belt that was and is under the influence of significant plate tectonic activity. The Indian plate pushes itself under the Eurasian plate , which in the past led to the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet plateau and the Hengduan mountains. Existing rivers cut deeply into the terrain, creating today's extreme ground relief. Most of the rock types that can be found here date from the Middle Ages and suggest that the mountains of this region once belonged to the oceanic crust of the Tethys Sea and were later lifted up and severely deformed by the plate collision. Today this can be seen in the area in the complex patterns of folded sediment layers and numerous other unusual geological formations.

The eastern mountain region of the area in particular clearly shows traces of glacial developments. In addition to numerous streams and waterfalls, there are 424 glacier lakes , moraines and other glacial formations. There are also a number of alpine karst landscapes with extensive cave systems and tufa formations. Examples are the Stone Moon Cave in Fugong County and the Walaya Cave System in Lushui , the Baishuitai Terraces in Zhongdian , Binzhongluo in Gongshan, Wongshui and Gezan in Zhongdian, and Shigu-Shitou in Lijiang.

Notable examples of major Quaternary glaciers in the region include the Mingyongqia , Siqia, and Haba . There are also large, erosion-shaped granite deposits and eroded red sandstone monoliths similar to those in Danxia Shan . One such area can be found in Lijiang Liming .

climate

Especially in the southwest, the climate of the area is influenced by the monsoon , which is caught on the edge of the Tibetan highlands and provides a permanent snow cover for the peaks above 5000 m. Cool air masses from the highlands of Tibet create a damp and cool climate in the north. In the center there is a warm, humid, subtropical climate due to the foehn winds from the west. The average annual rainfall is between 4600 mm in the Dulong Jiang area west of Gongshan and 300 mm in the upper valleys of the Yangtze. Over 2400 m there is permanent fog.

Flora and fauna

The area is home to around 6,000 species of flora, including numerous endemic , local forms, and threatened species. There are over 200 species of rhododendrons , 37 of which have been discovered here, over 100 species of gentians and primroses, and numerous lilies and orchids . Among the endemic species are ginkgo and handkerchief tree , four species of the genus Meconopsis and two species of Cycas . Relic species such as the Taiwanie , the Yunnan yew ( Taxus yunannensis ), the magnolia Magnolia rostrata , the daisy family Nouelia insignis and Kingdonia uniflora are also worth mentioning .

Large parts of the area are covered by forests. These include monsoon forests in the lower sections of Dulong Jiang and Saluen and semi-humid tropical forests on those of the Mekong and Yangtze. Cold temperate mountain slopes and hot, dry valleys are partly covered with hard deciduous forests , which are mostly dominated by oak species . This form of forest can be found in the middle section of the river on the Mekong and Yangtze. Deciduous deciduous forests, mostly made of oak or alder, occur in locations between 3000 and 3500 m. There are also different types of tropical and temperate coniferous forests. In altitudes between 2800 and 3300 m these are warm to cool temperate coniferous forests and between 3300 and 4100 m cold temperate fir forests .

On the lower sections of the Mekong and Yangtze, in warm river valleys, there are also dry savannahs in places , and in the upper areas of the two rivers a desert-like type of vegetation made up of microphyll bushes. Other types of vegetation in the area are cold-temperate shrub vegetation, subalpine and alpine meadows, shrubbery, alpine block heaps and aquatic plant communities on alpine lakes.

81 of the 173 mammal species found are endemic. Among the monkey species, this includes the black snub nose , and the white-browed gibbon , the cap langur and the bear macaque also live here . The predators that live here include the leopard and clouded leopard , collar bear and lesser panda , the red dog and the Indian otter . Among the articulated ungulates, the Gongshan muntjac , the black musk deer and the takin should be emphasized. Two mammalian species endemic here are the pika Ochotona gaoligongensis and the shrew mole Uropsilus soricipes .

22 of the 417 bird species are endemic. The rarities here include the brown-throated wedge-tailed chicken , the diamond pheasant , the white -eared pheasant , the pearl jay , the Yunnan kleiber and the giant kleiber . Black-necked crane , bog duck , black-breasted hazel grouse , rose- tailed trogon and brown-winged parrot also breed here .

population

The population composition of the area includes many of the 25 minority groups in Yunnan Province - including the Derung , the smallest ethnic group of Yunnan. Tibetans , Nu , Lisu , Bai , Primi and Naxi still live here . Many of these peoples still dress in traditional costumes.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d UNESCO World Heritage Center: Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas. Retrieved April 11, 2017 .
  2. ↑ Markus Rimmele: Against humans and nature - China's ambitious dam projects , Deutschlandfunk - " Background " from April 13, 2013
  3. ↑ Description of the area ( memento of January 14, 2009) by UNEP , p. 4
  4. ↑ Description of the area ( Memento of January 14, 2009) by UNEP , pp. 1–2
  5. ↑ Information from the UNESCO World Heritage Center
  6. ↑ Description of the area ( Memento of January 14, 2009) by UNEP , p. 3

Coordinates: 27 ° 12 ′ 0 ″  N , 99 ° 15 ′ 0 ″  E