The Site is an inland wetland dominated by permanent highland saline and freshwater lakes on the south Chang Tang plateau, part of the Tibetan plateau. This high-altitude wetland, with an average elevation of 4,700 metres, is a representative alpine wetland ecosystem highlighting rare and unique features of such wetlands across the world. The Site is divided into two zones: the western part, in the vast area between the Kunlun mountains and the Nyenchen Tanglha mountains of the Gangdisê range, which is the largest system of inland lakes on the Tibetan plateau; and the eastern part, to the north of the Nyenchen Tanglha mountains and on the eastern side of the north-east Tibetan watershed, with a system of rivers which flow towards the sea. The Site’s vast and varied alpine wetland ecosystems play a significant role in maintaining biodiversity, including 472 species of plants, 23 mammals, 105 birds, one amphibian, three reptiles and ten fish species, among them rare and threatened species such as the saker falcon Falco cherrug, Pallas’s fish-eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus, the eastern imperial eagle Aquila heliaca and the snow leopard Panthera uncia. The Site is also an important stopover and breeding ground for many waterbirds such as Grus nigricollis, Larus brunnicephalus, Anser indicus and Tadorna ferruginea.

Nagqu City, Tibet Autonomous Region, People's Republic of China