gaoligong

Gaoligong Mountains

Goaligong Mountain is located in the Szechwan Highlands in the southern part of China.
Its highest elevation reaches over 4,000 metres and this upper part of the mountain is designated as the core area. Evergreen broad-leaved forests, deciduous forests and bamboo woodlands are characteristic of the region. Because of the difficulty to reach the area, the forests and the wildlife are well protected. Among the most protected species are the red panda (Ailurus fulgens) and the clouded leopard (Neofelis nebulosa).
Some 360,000 people live in the biosphere reserve (1999), subsisting mainly on agriculture and husbandry but also increasingly on ecotourism. The biosphere reserve hosts over 20 ethnic minorities that follow their customs and various ways of life. In the buffer zone, there are some collections of medicinal and edible plants and mushrooms. Past and planned scientific research focuses on biodiversity conservation and sustainable development of local communities.
The Gaoligong Mountains are a mountainous area at the southern end of the Hengduan Mountain Range, located in the western Yunnan highlands very near to the China and Myanmar border. It is located along the west bank of the Nujiang valley from Gongshan down in to Dehong Prefecture, a distance of approximately 500 km. It is the drainage divide of the Nujiang and Irrawaddy rivers. The main peak is Ga her (嘎普) peak, 5128 meters above sea level.
The Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve is made up of three distinct areas. One part is found in the south-central part of the mountain range and covers an area of 120,000 ha. Around 9 km wide, it stretches over approximately 135 km from north to south across parts of Lushui County, Baoshan City Prefecture and Tengchong County. The highest peak within the reserve is the 3,916 meter high Wona.Another large part of the reserve is the Dulongjian area, west of Gongshan, and home to the Derung people.

In 1983, the Gaoligongshan Nature Reserve was established, and in 1992, the World Wildlife Fund, designated it a level A grade protected area. In 2000, UNESCO accepted it as a Biosphere Reserves member. The reserve is part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas, established in 2003, and as such a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The mountains are also part of the Nujiang Langcang Gorge alpine conifer and mixed forests ecoregion

Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve lies at the conjecture of Baoshan City, Tengchong County and Lushui County, west of Yunnan Province. It is to the west side of Nujiang River and at the Sino-Myanmar border. The Reserve lies between east longitude of 98o34′- 98o50′ and north latitude of 24o56′- 26o09′. It runs through the southern section of Hengduan Mountains from south to north. Covering a total area of 120,000 hectares with forest coverage of 85%, the Reserve is about 9 kilometers wide from the east to the west, and 135 kilometers long from the south to the ?north. Gaoligong Mountain National Nature Reserve is characterized by its natural landscape of biological and climate vertical belts, various types of vegetation, and a great variety of plants and animals. In 1992, the Reserve was classified as a Class-A reserve of international significance by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF); and it was included in the International Man and Biosphere Reserve Network by the end of 2000.

Related books