Xizang set to build world's largest national park by 2025

The delegation from Southwest China's Xizang autonomous region to the second session of the 14th National People's Congress holds an open panel discussion on March 6, 2024. [Photo by Wang Zhuangfei/chinadaily.com.cn]

The Xizang autonomous region plans to build the highest and largest national park in the world by 2025, the chairman of the regional government said on Wednesday.

The planned Chang Tang National Park on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau will cover an area of 298,000 square kilometers, which is about 37 times the size of the famous Yellow Stone National Park in the United States, Yan Jinhai, chairman of the regional government, said during a deliberation session of the Xizang delegation to the 14th National People's Congress on Wednesday.

"Once established, the Changtang National Park would be the highest and largest national park in the world," Yan said at the session that was opened to the press.

He added that Xizang is one of the regions that have kept the best eco-environment in the world, with the region attaching great importance to the protection of its environment and biodiversity.

About 36 percent of the region's land has been listed as natural reserves. Furthermore, eco-environmental conservation has always been seen as the top priority for Xizang, Yan said.