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Potatso National Park or Pudacuo National Park () is a national park located in 
The region of this park contains more than 20 percent of the country’s plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species, though it comprises only 0.7 percent of China's land area. It is notably home to vulnerable
The park is 22 km away , about a 50-minute drive from
Shangri-La County
Shangri-La (, Tibetan: Gyalthang) is a county-level city in Northwestern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China and is the location of the seat of the Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Sichuan to the northwest, north, and ea ...
, Yunnan
Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...
Province in the People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. The park was announced on June 25, 2007, and is notable as the first national park in China to meet 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 nat ...
standards. It incorporates the ''Bita Lake Nature Reserve'' and the ''Duhu Scenic Area'' in the Hongshan region. As such they are part of the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas
The Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas () is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Yunnan province, China. It lies within the drainage basins of the upper reaches of the Jinsha (Yangtze), Lancang (Mekong) and Nujiang ( Salween) rivers, in ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...
.
Fauna and flora
The region of this park contains more than 20 percent of the country’s plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species, though it comprises only 0.7 percent of China's land area. It is notably home to vulnerable Black-necked crane
The black-necked Crane (''Grus nigricollis'') is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is 139 cm (55 in) long with a 235 cm (7.8 ft) wingspan, and it weighs ...
s, many rare and beautiful orchids, and Himalayan Yew, a coniferous tree whose extracts are a source of the anticancer An anticarcinogen (also known as a carcinopreventive agent) is a substance that counteracts the effects of a carcinogen or inhibits the development of cancer. Anticarcinogens are different from anticarcinoma agents (also known as anticancer or an ...
drug, paclitaxel
Paclitaxel (PTX), sold under the brand name Taxol among others, is a chemotherapy medication used to treat a number of types of cancer. This includes ovarian cancer, esophageal cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, Kaposi's sarcoma, cervical canc ...
.
Visitor information
The park is 22 km away , about a 50-minute drive from Zhongdian
Shangri-La (, Tibetan: Gyalthang) is a county-level city in Northwestern Yunnan Province, People's Republic of China and is the location of the seat of the Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, bordering Sichuan to the northwest, north, and ea ...
. It has two lakes, a visitor center, several interesting minority villages, lush forests and pasture views. From the visitor center a park bus takes visitors to the first stop, away from where there are several miles of raised wooden walkways around the Shudu Lake
Shudu Lake () is a plateau lake in Shangri-La County, Yunnan Province，southwest of China. The lake is located in Pudacuo National Park
Potatso National Park or Pudacuo National Park () is a national park located in Shangri-La County, Yunnan Pro ...
(属都湖).
The next bus destination is Bita Hai Lake (碧塔海), above sea level. It is surrounded by dense deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, ...
forests. The bus stops a few feet from a wharf from where visitors can take a boat ride around the lake and to the island in the center. Price for the boat ride is 50 Yuan. It is just over from where the boat disembarks to the bus pick up point. Alternatively, one may walk down the
path from the South entrance and hike to and exit the park from the West entrance. Getting to the West entrance requires both a boat and ferry ride. The entire hike can take 4–6 hours. Riding horses are also available.
Free admission to Xiagei Village is included in the park’s 190 Yuan admission fee.
See also
*List of national parks of the People's Republic of China
The proposal of establishing a national park system of China was released in 2013 at the 3rd Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party. In 2016, the Three-River-Source National Park was established as the first ...
References
{{authority control National parks of China Geography of Dêqên Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture World Heritage Sites in China Protected areas established in 2007 Tourist attractions in Yunnan Shangri-La