Daweishan National Nature Reserve in SW China’s Yunnan: diverse gene pool for invaluable species

Photo shows a flower of the Pachylarnax sinica, a wild plant under first-class state protection in China at the Daweishan National Nature Reserve in southwest China’s Yunnan province. (Photo/He Yongming)

With its warm and humid climate, the Daweishan National Nature Reserve in southwest China’s Yunnan province is home to a wide range of rare and endangered wild species, and is therefore dubbed as “the green gem of the Tropic of Cancer.”

A total of 5,321 species of vascular plants in 292 families, 1,341 species of animals, 74 species of wild plants and 74 species of wild animals under key national-level protection have been found in this nature reserve, including the Pachylarnax sinica and pygmy slow loris, making the area a diverse gene pool for invaluable species.

Located in Honghe Hani and Yi Autonomous Prefecture of Yunnan, the nature reserve covers an area of 43,992.6 hectares and borders four counties and cities of the province. Thanks to its special location, the area that now comprises the nature reserve avoided the effects of glacial erosion during the Quaternary period, with the region nowadays being home to an abundance of rare plant species dating back to the Tertiary period.