World Natural Heritage: Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas

Date of Inscription: 2003

Chinese Name: San Jiang Bing Liu

English Name: Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas

According to cultural and natural heritage selection criteria V, the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas were included in the World Heritage List in July 2003.

The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, which has a total area of more than 3,500 square kilometers, is located in Yunnan Province, China, running through nine nature reserves and 10 scenic spots in Lijiang City of Yunnan, Diqing Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture and Nujiang Lisu Autonomous Prefecture. The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas are composed of the Nujiang River, Lancang River, Jinsha River and other mountain ranges, covering an area of 1.7 million hectares. The main landscapes include the three parallel rivers, high snowy mountain peaks, gorges and dangerous shoals, immense forests, and glacial erosion lakes. It is the scenic spot with largest area, the most abundant and spectacular sceneries, as well as the most colorful ethnic customs in Yunnan, but is also a scenic spot that has not yet been developed. It lies at the convergence of East Asia, South Asia and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, and is the representative area of rare mountain landscapes and their evolution in the world, as well as one of the regions with most biological species.

The key feature of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas is that the Jinsha River, Lancang River and Nujiang River originate from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and run over 170 kilometers in Yunnan Province from north to south. They flow through the Dandanglika Mountain, the Gaoligong Mountain, the Nushan Mountain and the Yunling Mountain, forming the world's rare and peculiar geography landscape of three parallel rivers without meeting. Among the three parallel rivers, the Jinsha River is the upper reaches of the Yangtze River and eventually flows into the East China Sea.

Assessment of the World Heritage Committee

The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas refer to Jinsha River, Lancang River and Nujiang River, which originate from the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and run over 170 kilometers in Yunnan Province from north to south. They flow through the Dandanglika Mountain, the Gaoligong Mountain, the Nushan Mountain and the Yunling Mountain, forming a rare and peculiar geography landscape in the world—three parallel rivers without meeting. The shortest straight line distance between the Lancang River and Jinsha River is 66 kilometers and that between the Lancang River and Nujiang River is less than 19 kilometers.