View source for Three Parallel Rivers

{{distinguish|text=[[Sanjiangyuan]] in Qinghai}}
{{Infobox UNESCO World Heritage Site
| WHS           = Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
| image         = Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas map01.png
| image_upright = 1.2
| caption       = Location of Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas indicated by a red circle
| location      = [[Yunnan]], [[China]]
| includes      = 
| criteria      = {{UNESCO WHS type|(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)}}(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
| ID            = 1083
| coordinates   = {{coord|27|53|42|N|98|24|23|E|type:landmark_region:CN|display=title, inline|format=dms}}
| year          = 2003
| extension     = 2010
| area          = <!-- {{convert|...|ha|acre|abbr=on}} or similar with other units recommended -->
| buffer_zone   = 
| locmapin      = China Yunnan#China
| map_caption   = 
}}
The '''Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas''' ({{zh|s=云南三江并流|p=Yúnnán Sānjiāng Bìngliú}}) is a [[UNESCO World Heritage Site]] in [[Yunnan]] province, China. It lies within the [[drainage basin]]s of the upper reaches of the [[Jinsha River|Jinsha]] ([[Yangtze]]), Lancang ([[Mekong]]) and Nujiang ([[Salween]]) rivers, in the Yunnan section of the [[Hengduan Mountains]].<ref name=WHL>{{cite web|author= UNESCO World Heritage Centre 1992-2016|website= World Heritage List|title= Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas|url= https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1083|access-date= 2016-07-01}}</ref>

==Overview==
[[File:Meili Snow Mountains - R0010879.jpg|thumb|[[Meili Xue Shan]]—Meili Snow Mountains, in Yunnan Protected Area.]]

===Geography===
The protected areas extend over 15 core areas, totalling 939,441.4&nbsp;ha, and buffer areas, totalling 758,977.8&nbsp;ha across a region of 180&nbsp;km by 310&nbsp;km. Here, for a distance of over 300&nbsp;km, three of [[List of the longest Asian rivers|Asia's great rivers]] run roughly parallel to one another though separated by high mountain ranges with peaks over 6,000 meters. After this area of near [[confluence]], the rivers greatly diverge: the [[Nujiang River]] becomes Salween and empties out at [[Mawlamyaing|Moulmein]], [[Burma]], into the [[Indian Ocean]]; the Lancang becomes the [[Mekong]] and empties at south of [[Ho Chi Minh City]], [[Vietnam]] into the [[South China Sea]]; and the [[Yangtze]] flows into the [[East China Sea]] at [[Shanghai]]. Selected nature reserves and places of scenic beauty in this unique region were collectively awarded World Heritage Site status in 2003 for their very rich biodiversity and outstanding topographical diversity.

Running parallel to these three rivers, slightly to the west, is the river gorge of the [[N'Mai River]], the main tributary to the [[Irrawaddy River]]. About 100 kilometers to the west and northwest is the watershed of the [[Lohit River]], a tributary of the [[Brahmaputra River]] and the greater [[Ganges Delta|Ganges-Brahmaputra system]]. Thus, in this unique mountainous region, adjacent headwaters feed five of Asia's most significant rivers; from east to west, they are: Yangtze, Mekong, Salween, Irrawaddy, and the Ganges-Brahmaputra. They are all among the top 15 rivers on the continent by volume or length.

===Biology===
In its description, [[UNESCO]] mentions: "(It) may be the most biologically diverse [[temperate region]] on earth" and "An exceptional range of topographical features - from [[gorge]]s to [[karst]] to glaciated peaks -- is associated with the site being at a 'collision point' of [[tectonic plates]]".

Due to its topography and geographical location, the ''Three Parallel Rivers'' region contains many climate types. Average annual precipitation ranges from 4,600&nbsp;mm in the Dulongjian area in the west of [[Gongshan]] county to 300&nbsp;mm in the upper valleys of the Yangtze river.  The protected areas are home to around 6,000 species of plants, 173 species of mammals, and 417 species of birds. Many of the flora and fauna species are [[endemism|endemic]] to the region.

===Culture===
The Three Parallel Rivers has been acknowledged as a ''natural'' World Heritage Site. Demographically, the region contains many of the twenty-five ethnic groups found in Yunnan province (including the [[Derung]], the smallest of all of China's minority groups). Other minorities found in this region include the [[Tibetan people]], the [[Nu people]], the [[Lisu people|Lisu]], the [[Bai people|Bai]], the [[Pumi people|Pumi]] and the [[Naxi people|Naxi]]. Many of these minorities still use [[traditional costume]]s as their normal daily attire.

In the same region as the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas lies the [[Old Town of Lijiang]], which is also a World Heritage Site in its own right.

{{multiple image
 | align     = center
 | direction = horizontal
 | header_align = center
 | header    = Three Parallel Rivers
 | total_width       = 600
 | image1    = 怒江从远方走来 where River Nu originates (543159679).jpg
 | alt1      = 
 | caption1  = [[Salween River|Nu River (Salween)]]
 | image2    = 澜沧江 Lancang River (485606714).jpg
 | alt2      = 
 | caption2  = [[Mekong|Lancang River (Mekong)]]
 | image3    = 金沙江 upper Yangtze River (437149366).jpg
 | alt3      = 
 | caption3  = [[Jinsha River|Jinsha River (Yangtze)]]
 }}

==Protected areas==
[[File:Yangzi River - by Peter Morgan.jpg|thumb|The upper reaches of the [[Yangtze River]], bearing north having just emerged from the [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]].]]
The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas consists of fifteen protected areas, in eight geographic clusters. The areas include:

* The three separate sections of the [[Gaoligongshan National Nature Reserve]]
* [[Haba Xueshan]] Nature Reserve, with the [[Tiger Leaping Gorge]]
* Bita Lake Nature Reserve, part of [[Pudacuo National Park]], in [[Shangri-La County]]
* [[Yunling Mountains|Yunling]] Nature Reserve
* [[Gongshan]] Scenic Area
* Yueliangshan Scenic Area in [[Fugong County]] (also known as Stone Moon mountain)
* Pianma Scenic Area in [[Lushui County]]
* Baima-[[Meili Xue Shan|Meili Xue Shan—Meili Snow mountain range]] Reserve, with the highest peak, at {{convert|6740|m|ft}}, of the protected areas.
* 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==
[[File:C.the takin herd.jpg|thumb|A herd of [[takin]] in [[Gongshan Derung and Nu Autonomous County]]]]
According to UNESCO "The area covered by the World Heritage site is claimed to be the most [[biodiversity|biodiverse]] and least disturbed [[temperate]] [[ecosystem]]s in the world".
===Flora===
The protected [[terrestrial ecoregion]] areas of this [[biodiversity hotspot]] are for a large part covered with both temperate [[Temperate coniferous forest|coniferous]] and [[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest|broadleaf forest]]s. The protected areas are home to around 6,000 species of plants, many of which are [[endemism|endemic]] to the region.  More than 200 varieties of [[rhododendron]] and more than 100 species of [[gentian]]s and [[primula]]s are found in the areas.

===Fauna===
The fauna found in the areas includes 173 species of mammals, of which 81 are endemic, and 417 species of birds, of which 22 are endemic. Some of the mammals which inhabit these regions are the endemic [[black snub-nosed monkey]], the [[Indian leopard]], [[snow leopard]], and [[clouded leopard]]; the [[Gaoligong pika]], [[Gongshan muntjac]], [[Chinese shrew mole]], and [[capped langur]]; the [[stump-tailed macaque]], [[Asiatic wild dog]], [[black musk deer]], and [[takin]]; the [[smooth-coated otter]], [[hoolock gibbon]], [[Asian black bear]] and [[red panda]].

Rare bird species in the areas include [[chestnut-throated partridge]], the [[Lady Amherst's pheasant]], [[white-eared pheasant]], [[Yunnan nuthatch]], and [[giant nuthatch]]; the [[white-speckled laughingthrush]], [[ferruginous duck]], [[Severtzov's grouse]], and [[brown-winged parrotbill]]; the [[Ward's trogon]], [[black-necked crane]] and [[Verreaux's monal-partridge]].

==See also==
*[[Chushi Gangdruk]]
*[[List of ecoregions in China]]
*[[Temperate broadleaf and mixed forest]] - ''terrestrial [[biome]]''
*[[Temperate coniferous forest]] - ''terrestrial biome''
*[[List of World Heritage Sites in Asia]]
*Episode "Shangri-La" of the BBC nature documentary ''[[Wild China]]''
*[[Pierre Jean Marie Delavay]], a French Catholic [[missionary]] and [[botanist]] who explored the region in the late 19th century<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.eoearth.org/article/Three_Parallel_Rivers_of_Yunnan_Protected_Areas,_China#gen7 |title=Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, China |publisher=Eoearth.org |date=2008-08-25 |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>
*[[Joseph Rock]], Austrian-American explorer and botanist who described the region in ''"Through the Great River Trenches of Asia: National Geographic Society Explorer Follows the Yangtze, Mekong, and Salwin Through Mighty Gorges" (1926)''

== References ==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Three Parallel Rivers National Park}}
{{Commons category|Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20090103131021/http://www.worldheritagesite.org/sites/parallelriversyunnan.html World-Heritage-Site.org: Three Parallel Rivers Of Yunnan Protected Areas]
*[http://www.eoearth.org/article/Three_Parallel_Rivers_of_Yunnan_Protected_Areas,_China Earth.org: ''"Three Parallel Rivers Of Yunnan Protected Areas"'' article]
* [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20090114211245/http://www.unep-wcmc.org/sites/wh/pdf/THREE%20RIVERS%20YUNNAN.pdf UNep-wcmc.org - Three Rivers of Yunnan]

{{Clear}}

{{World Heritage Sites in China}}
{{Canyons and gorges of China}}
{{Valleys of China}}
{{Yunnan topics}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Three Parallel Rivers Of Yunnan Protected Areas}}
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in China]]
[[Category:Biosphere reserves of China]]
[[Category:Landforms of Yunnan]]
[[Category:Geography of Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture]]
[[Category:Geography of Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture]]
[[Category:Geography of Lijiang]]
[[Category:Canyons and gorges of China]]
[[Category:Valleys of China]]
[[Category:Forests of China]]
[[Category:Old-growth forests]]
[[Category:Yangtze River]]
[[Category:Mekong River]]
[[Category:Salween River]]
[[Category:Tourist attractions in Yunnan]]
[[Category:Temperate broadleaf and mixed forests]]
[[Category:Temperate coniferous forests]]
[[Category:Ecoregions of China]]
[[Category:Freshwater ecoregions]]
[[Category:National parks of China]]