Three parallel rivers of Yunnan

Three parallel rivers of Yunnan
Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas is situated in Yunnan Province, south-west China. The site consists of 15 protected areas (in eight geographic clusters) in the mountainous northwest of the Province. It 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 protected areas include:
- Gaoligong Mountain Nature Reserve
- Baimang Snow Mountain Nature Reserve
- Haba Snow Mountain Reserve
- Bita Lake Nature Reserve
- Yunling Nature Reserve
- Gongshan Area
- Yueliangshan Area
- Pianma Area
- Meili Snow Mountain Area
- Julong Lake Area
- Laowoshan Area
- Hongshan Area
- Qianhu Mountain Scenic Area
- Laojun Mountain Scenic Area

Year Decision Comments
2003 Inscribed Reasons for inscription



Visit October 1994

In 1994, I travelled around Yunnan Province for one month. It was one of the best trips of my life, and still at the right moment. Kunming was just starting to become a big, modern city and Lijiang and Dali saw the first influx of tourists. However, I did visit more remote places during that trip, of which Zhongdian stands out the most. We arrived after a long bustrip by night through the mountains. The air was thin, making the climb to the first floor of our hotel already difficult.

In the next days we explored the surroundings. With a car and a female driver (I still clearly picture her immaculate white gloves) we went on a day trip to (what I now think was) Napa Hai. Writing this review, over 10 years later, the memories of the heavenly landscape all come back. The fresh mountain air, the endless views over the plateau, the yellow hey stacks, the rivers and lakes, numerous yaks. Still sunny in October, we enjoyed just strolling around, having small talk (the mime-type) with local women doing their laundry in the streams (members of the minority groups that populate this area).

I have been hesitant to add this site to my Visited list, mainly because it's not very clear what exactly belongs to the "Three parallel rivers of Yunnan protected areas" and because I didn't write down the names of the places I visited in 1994. After some research I believe the place I went to was Napa Hai, and that is included in the protected areas.

Zhongdian was renamed to Xianggelila a few years ago, marketing itself as the spot of James Hilton's mythical Shangri-La. The town itself certainly isn't, but its surrounding Tibetan countryside - well, it could be!

Reviews

Anthony Sun (USA):
These sites are always hard to determine whether you have visited them. However my guide when I visited ShangriLa from Lijiang in October of 2008, confirmed that Tiger Leaping Gorge is part of Haba Snow Mountain and then in ShangriLa I visited the Potatso National Park and found that Bita Lake is located in the park. Both Tiger Leaping Gorge and Potatso Park are very popular local tourist sites and should be the destination for anyone who wants to check this WHS off their list.
Date posted: December 2008
P. Welch (USA):
I've been twice in the last 20 months to this area because I found it so beautiful the first time (April 2004). But when I returned a few weeks ago (November 2005), I found so much development going on that I had the feeling one needs to travel quickly to this area before it loses all its natural charm. Very modern four and six-lane highways are being put up--wonderful in some regards, but isn't part of the romance of a place getting there? Modern, gleaming gas stations are springing up to support the road networks. China Mobile cell phone towers are everywhere, creating wonderful cell service but definitely not wanted in the scene view. The city of Dali seems to be in competition with the city of Lijiang; they're now building their own "old town completely with running spring". Zhongdian meanwhile is building its own new "old town" -- and all of these while featuring quaint cobbled streets and Naxi and Tibetan houses, sell the most dreadful tourist trinkets (plastic "Tibetan" beads, tin "silver jewelry", fake old coins, Tibetan "dreamcatchers", Naxi t-shirts, etc. etc.) We returned to a wonderful valley near Zhongdian to discover it had turned into a major construction site where they are building--yes! another new "old city" and a chairlift to haul hundreds of tourists daily up over the once pristine valleys and peaks. Pretty soon we'll probably have white water rafting camps along the rivers. Can't something be done to explain that these sites should be preserved, that they are a part of our natural heritage and heritage they already have (or had). You can't build heritage. What I discovered was the real culture being destroyed for a new Epcot style "cultural experience for tourists". Go quickly.
Date posted: November 2005


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