Gaoligong Mountain is located at the junction of Baoshan, Tengchong and Lushui cities, with a total area of 1.85 million acres. There are the modern volcanic clusters on the west slope of Gaoligong Mountain, reflecting the active crustal activities.
The highest peak is 3,773 meters above the sea level. The steep mountain forms a unique three-dimensional climate with a complete subtropical ecological environment. There are many exotic flowers and trees, rare birds and animals in the mountain. The Gaoligong Mountain was established as a national nature reserve in 1983.
From the foot to the top of the mountain, it is divided into 6 plant spectrums. There are more than 1,400 plants in the mountain, including more than 80 species of the rare trees, such as Taiwan fir, tree fern and Nanmu.
This is home to hundreds of different plant species, most of which cannot be found elsewhere in the world. Gaoligong Mountain also has many wild medicinal materials such as Astragalus, Panax notoginseng, Gastrodia and Codonopsis, forming a natural medicine library. There are more than 250 kinds of birds and 40 kinds of beasts including tigers, black langurs, and golden monkeys. Therefore it is a natural paradise for wild animals. Gaoligong Mountain has the high values for scientific investigation, tourism and exploration, and resource exploration.
Azalea is one of the most famous flowers in China. In a degree, azalea represents the pure quality of the Chinese. Yunnan is the home of more than 300 kinds of the azalea. Usually, azalea grows just one or two meters tall. However, in 1981, the Chinese scientists found a group of the biggest and tallest azaleas in the virgin forest of the Gaoligong Mountains in Tengchong and named them “the King of the Azalea in the World”. The azaleas could grow 9 or even 25 meters tall. The oldest one is more than 500 years old.
Gaoligong Mountain is a famous place for business in history. It is also known as the famous part of the famous Silk Road in the southern China. Compared with the Silk Road connecting to the Europe, it is even 200 years older.