Hoang Lien National Park (, also known as ''Hoàng Liên Sơn, Dãy Hoàng Liên'') is a

national park A national park is a nature park, natural park in use for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes, created and protected by national governments. Often it is a reserve of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that a sovereign state dec ...

within Hoang Lien Son Range, in the districts of Sa Pa and Than Uyên of Lào Cai Province, and part of

Phong Thổ District Phong may refer to: Computer graphics * Phong shading * Phong reflection model * Blinn–Phong shading model * Bui Tuong Phong - creator of the Phong shading interpolation method and reflection model. Other * Phong-Kniang language * Nam Phon ...

Lai Châu Province Lai or LAI may refer to: Abbreviations * Austrian Latin America Institute (Österreichisches Lateinamerika-Institut) * ''Latin American Idol'', TV series * La Trobe Institute, Melbourne, Australia * Leaf area index, leaf area of a crop or ve ...

in Northern Vietnam. Its area is with terrain mostly between 1,000 to 3,000 meters above sea level. The national park was established according to the Decision number 90/2002/QĐ-TTg dated 12 July 2006 by the

government of Vietnam The Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (), also known as the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam (), is the executive branch and body of the State administration of Vietnam. The members of the Government are appoi ...

. This decision turned the Nature Reserve into a National Park. Hoang Lien National Park is recognized as a part of

ASEAN ASEAN ( , ), officially the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a political and economic union of 10 member states in Southeast Asia, which promotes intergovernmental cooperation and facilitates economic, political, security, militar ...

Heritage Parks and a Centre of Plant Diversity in the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN; officially International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natu ...

's (IUCN) Plant Conservation Program.

Location

Hoang Lien National Park is Vietnam's mountainous Northwest and includes

Fansipan Fansipan (Vietnamese: ''Phan Xi Păng'', ) is a mountain in Vietnam. The height of the mountain was in 1909, but now the height of the mountain is . It is the highest mountain in the Indochinese Peninsula (comprising Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia) ...

, the highest mountain in Vietnam and on the

Indochinese Peninsula Mainland Southeast Asia, also known as the Indochinese Peninsula or Indochina, is the continental portion of Southeast Asia. It lies east of the Indian subcontinent and south of Mainland China and is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the west an ...

. The total area of the core national park is , which includes a strict protected area of 11,875 ha; a "forest rehabilitation area" of 17,900 ha; and an administration services area of 70 ha. The core part of Hoang Lien National Park is within San Sa Ho, Lao Chai, Ta Van, Ban Ho populated places, Sa Pa district, Lao Cai Province, and a part of Muong Khoa, Than Thuoc communes, Than Uyen district. The total peripheral area, the Hoang Lien Son-Van Ban section, is , consisting of Sa Pa town and a few communes within Sa Pa and Van Ban districts, Lao Cai Province; and 2 communes within Phong Tho district, Lai Chau. There are six ethnic groups living in this area, with Dao and H'mong people being the majority.

Biodiversity

Hoang Lien National Park is home to numerous species of plants and animals, many of which are rare and endangered.

Flora and fauna

Over 3000 plant species have been recorded in the park, including many endemic and endangered species. The mountainous terrain of the park means distinct

altitudinal zonation Altitudinal zonation (or elevational zonation) in mountainous regions describes the natural layering of ecosystems that occurs at distinct elevations due to varying environmental conditions. Temperature, humidity, soil composition, and solar r ...

is seen, with the flora changing from tropical plants at low elevations to temperate alpine plants at high elevations. An estimated amount of 25 percent of Vietnam's endemic plants are found on Fansipan mountain.Frontier Vietnam (1999) Tordoff, A., Swan, S., Grindlry, M. & Siurua, H.. (eds) ''Hoang Lien Nature Reserve.Conservation Evaluation 1997/98''. Frontier Vietnam Environmental Research Report 17.. Society for Environmental Exploration, UK and Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources, Hanoi. About one-third of amphibian species present in Vietnam can be found in the park.

Butterflies and Moths

A total of 199 butterfly species has been observed in Hoang Lien National Park. For moths, a total of 78 species of sphingidea and a total of 286 species of

noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family of moths. They are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly changing, along with the other f ...

has been observed.

Mammals and Amphibians

There are ten species of animals and four species of birds which are globally endangered were recorded in the park. The population of mammals in Hoang Lien National Park is low due to poaching. However, in 1999, it is recorded that there are 347 bird species in and around the nature reserve, including 49 species that are restricted in Vietnam to North-west Tonkin. A total of 38 different

anuran A frog is any member of a diverse and largely Carnivore, carnivorous group of short-bodied, tailless amphibians composing the order (biology), order Anura (ανοὐρά, literally ''without tail'' in Ancient Greek). The oldest fossil "proto-f ...

(frogs and toads) species were observed in Hoang Lien National Park in 1997-1998.

Location

Biodiversity

Flora and fauna

Butterflies and Moths

Mammals and Amphibians

References

See also