Established in 2005, Pudacuo National Park in Yunnan's Diqing Tibetan autonomous prefecture is the first of its kind in China. Covering an area of 602.1 square kilometers, the national park is more than 3,500 meters above the sea level and about 40-minute drive from the downtown of Shangari-La, the capital of Diqing.

The region of this park contains more than 20 percent of China's plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species, though it comprises only 0.7 percent of the country's land area.

It is notably home to vulnerable black-necked cranes, many rare and beautiful orchids, and Himalayan Yew, a coniferous tree whose extracts are a source of the anticancer drug, paclitaxel.