This Global ecoregion is made up of 3 terrestrial ecoregions:
Hengduan Mountains subalpine conifer forests ; Qionglai-Minshan
conifer forests ; and Nujiang Langcang Gorge alpine conifer and
mixed forests The Qionglai-Minshan Mountains are among the
steepest and tallest mountains on Earth, with some peaks
reaching nearly 7,500 meters (25,000 ft). Gonga Shan, the
highest summit at 7,556 meters (2,479 ft) is so steep that the
glaciers on its east face tumble down below the tree line before
they finally melt. It includes peaks from 1,300 meters to 3,500
- 4,000 meters in elevation in the north-south trending mountain
system, which defines the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.
This altitudinal zonation gives the region a high degree of
habitat complexity and a resulting high biological diversity. A
flagship species of this ecoregion is the rare and endangered
giant panda ), for which a system of nature reserves has been
established. Much of this ecoregion escaped glaciation during
ice ages, making it a refuge f