★Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas★

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Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas is situated in south-west China. The site consists of 15 protected areas (in eight geographic clusters) in the mountainous northwest of Yunnan Province. The western and northern boundaries of the site border Myanmar and Tibet, in the high Hengduan Mountains (that comprise a large proportion of the nominated area), approximately 320km northwest of Kunming.Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas 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 site extends over 8 counties and 3 perfectures and is composed of 8 principal sub-land areas totalling 1,698,419 ha.

Bordering the Yunnun-Tibet border in the north, the Yunnan-Sichuan border in the east, the Sino-Burma border in the west, the site encompasses large sections of three of the great rivers of Asia, the Yangtse (Jinsha), Mekong (Lacang) and Salween (Nu Jiang), which run parallel from north to south through the nominated area for over 300km. The rivers pass through steep gorges, in places up to 3,000m deep. At their closest the three gorges are 18 and 66 kilometres apart, and for 70 kilometres there is a fourth parallel river on the western edge, the Dulongjiang, which runs into Myanmar, with west of it, the Dandanglika range. The Mekong runs through a gorge 310 km long.

The site is dominated by a huge composite orogenic belt that shows the signs of powerful crustal movements in the past. Notably the compression of the edge of the Eurasian plate by the underlying Indian plate which is being subducted along the line of the Lancang River fault. The resulting squeeze created vast thrust-nappes, violent shearing and uplift into high mountains (Hengduan Mountains and the uplift of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau), through which pre-existing rivers continue to cut, resulting in the extreme vertical relief which characterizes the area.

Cultural heritage of the estimated 278,329 people living within the boundaries of the site, 13 ethnic groups are represented, among them the Tibetan, Yi, Naxi, Bai, Lisu, Pumi, Nu and Dulong peoples. Many of these ethnic groups preserve unique customs and traditions. In many areas of the National Park, villages containing traditional houses and terraced hillside farms well adapted to their environment are maintained. The management plan developed for the nominated area, urges government agencies responsible for management of the site, to develop action plans to preserve the cultures and traditions of such ethnic groups. The government intends to preserve 31 of these traditional villages, to realise their potential for tourism.
本文引用：UNEP
：unesco-Brief Description