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

national park A national park is a nature park designated for conservation (ethic), conservation purposes because of unparalleled national natural, historic, or cultural significance. It is an area of natural, semi-natural, or developed land that is protecte ...

within Hoang Lien Son Range, in the districts of

Sa Pa Sa Pa (, also written as Sapa) is a district-level town of Lào Cai Province in the Northwest region of Vietnam. The town has an area of and a population of 70,663 in 2022. The town capital lies at Sa Pa ward. It is one of the main market and t ...

and Than Uyên of Lào Cai Province, and part of Phong Thổ District in

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 and 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 (; less formally the Vietnamese Government or the Government of Vietnam, ) is the Cabinet (government), cabinet and the central Executive (government), executive arm of the Politics of Vietn ...

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

ASEAN The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated as ASEAN, is a regional grouping of 10 states in Southeast Asia "that aims to promote economic and security cooperation among its ten members." Together, its member states r ...

Heritage Parks and a Centre of Plant Diversity in the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

's (IUCN) Plant Conservation Program.

Location

Hoang Lien National Park is Vietnam's mountainous Northwest and includes Fansipan, the highest mountain in Vietnam and on the

Indochinese Peninsula Mainland Southeast Asia (historically known as Indochina and the Indochinese Peninsula) 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 th ...

. 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 radi ...

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.

Butterflies and Moths

At the turn of the century, a total of 199

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

species had been observed in Hoang Lien National Park. For moths, the Tortricid '' Fansipaniana'' is named after the mountain, which is the type locality; other records include 78 species of sphynx moths and a total of 286 species of

Noctuidae The Noctuidae, commonly known as owlet moths, cutworms or armyworms, are a family (biology), family of moths. Taxonomically, they are considered the most controversial family in the superfamily Noctuoidea because many of the clades are constantly ...

Vertebrates

There are ten species of animals and four species of birds which are globally endangered were recorded in the park, including the

Fansipan shrew mole The Fansipan shrew mole (''Uropsilus fansipanensis'') is a shrew-like mole native to Vietnam. References Uropsilus Mammals described in 2023 Mammals of Vietnam {{Talpidae-stub ...

. The population of mammals in Hoang Lien National Park is low due to poaching. 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. Fansipan is the type locality for the snake '' Protobothrops cornutus'' and about one-third of amphibian species present in Vietnam can be found in the park. A total of 38 different

anuran A frog is any member of a diverse and largely semiaquatic group of short-bodied, tailless amphibian vertebrates composing the order Anura (coming from the Ancient Greek , literally 'without tail'). Frog species with rough skin texture due to ...

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

References