China to create its biggest national park, world's highest

China is about to officially create its largest national park, a preserve for native flora and fauna, which will also be the world's highest.

Following a successful pilot project, the 120,000-square kilometer park will be set up in Sanjiangyuan this year, the State Forestry and Grassland Administration said today. Sanjiangyuan is an area in the high-altitude Tibetan Plateau in northwestern Qinghai province that is home to the headwaters of three major rivers: the Yellow, the Yangtze and the Lancang (Mekong).

Sanjiangyuan became the country's first pilot national park in 2016. China has such 10 projects covering 220,000 square kilometers, the government said in December, adding that it will carry out inspections in the second half of this year to formally set up national parks in eligible areas.