Hengduan Shan

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The Hengduan Shan is a mountain range in Southeast Asia (Latitude: 27° 30' N, Longitude: 99° 0' E) that forms the border between Myanmar and Yunnan, China. The Hengduan Shan chain of mountains runs roughly north to south, defining the eastern edge of the Tibetan Plateau.

Largely covered in subalpine conifer forests, elevations range from 1,300 to 4,000 meters. The dense, pristine forest, the relative isolation and the fact that most of the area remained free from glaciation during the ice ages provides a very complex habitat with a high degree of biological diversity. This mountainous region is home to the rare and endangered Giant Panda. Other species native to the mountains are the Chinese yew (Taxus chinensis) and various other rare plants, deer and primates.

Environmental groups have recognized this ecoregion as being threatened by "a growing human population and the resulting demand for non-timber forests and wildlife products for medicinal and other uses".^[1]