Yunnan Guizhou Plateau
The Yunnan-Guizhou-Plateau , Yunnan-Guizhou-Hochland , Yun-Gui-Plateau or the plateau of Yunnan and Guizhou ( Chinese 云贵 高原 , Pinyin Yún-Guì Gāoyuán ) is located in southwest China in the east of the Ailao Mountains ( 哀牢 山 ) in the Chinese province of Yunnan and in the west of the Southeastern Hillsbrad ( 东南 丘陵 ). In the west it is connected to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (highlands of Tibet). It is one of the great Chinese plateaus and includes the eastern part of Yunnan, all of Guizhou , the northwest of Guangxi and the border areas of Sichuan , Hunan and Hubei .
In detail, the Yunnan-Guizhou plateau is subdivided in Chinese into East Yunnan Plateau ( 滇东 高原 , Diāndōng Gāoyuán ), North Yunnan Plateau ( 滇 北 高原 , Diānběi Gāoyuán ), West Yunnan Plateau ( 滇西 高原 , Dianxi Gaoyuan ), central Yunnan plateau ( 滇中高原 , Dianzhong Gaoyuan ), North-Guizhou plateau ( 黔北高原 , Qianbei Gaoyuan ), Central-Guizhou plateau ( 黔中高原 , Qianzhong Gaoyuan ) and West Guizhou -Plateau ( 黔西 高原 , Qiánxī Gāoyuán ).
The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau is between 1,000 and 2,000 meters high, its height decreases from Yunnan to Guizhou - i.e. from northwest to southeast. It is very uneven, because there are many pools on the plateau between the mountains, which the locals also call " bazi " ( 坝子 ). It is a karst landscape as limestone is very common. There are many limestone caves with stalagmites and stalactites , stone pillars, underground rivers and stone forests . Famous stone forests are the Lunan Stone Forest ( 路 南 石林 , Lùnán Shílín ) in the Shilin Autonomous County of the Yi and the Anshun Dragon Palace ( 安顺龙 宫 , Ānshùn Lónggōng ) in Anshun .
The Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau forms the watershed between the Yangtze , Xi Jiang ( 西江 ) (the largest tributary of the Pearl River ) and the Yuan Jiang ( 元 江 ), which becomes the Red River ( 红河 ) at the lower reaches .
It is used by rivers such as the Jinsha Jiang ( 金沙江 ), Yuan Jiang ( 元 江 ), Nanpan Jiang ( 南 盘 江 ), Beipan Jiang ( 北 盘 江 ), Wu Jiang ( 乌江 ), Yuan Jiang ( 沅江 ) and Liu Jiang ( 柳江 ), which divide the mountainous terrain of the plateau into individual pieces with numerous deep and rugged gorges. The large Hutiaoxia Gorge ( 虎 跳 涧 大 峡谷 , Hǔtiào Dàxiágǔ - " Tiger Leaping Gorge") on Jinsha Jiang is about 3,000 meters deep, for example, the Wu Jiang Gorge between 300 and 500 meters.
Well-known lakes are Dian Lake near Kunming and Erhai Lake near Dali .
The plateau is richly forested and has many natural resources.