Hoang Lien National Park (Vietnamese: Vườn quốc gia Hoàng Liên, also called Hoàng Liên Sơn or Dãy Hoàng Liên) is located in the Hoang Lien Son Range. It covers parts of Sa Pa and Than Uyên districts in Lào Cai Province, as well as a portion of Phong Thổ District in Lai Châu Province in northern Vietnam. The park covers an area of 68,569 hectares (264.75 square miles) and is mostly found at elevations between 1,000 and 3,000 meters above sea level.
The national park was created by a government decision numbered 90/2002/QĐ-TTg, issued on July 12, 2006. This decision changed a previous nature reserve into a national park. Hoang Lien National Park is part of the ASEAN Heritage Parks and is recognized as a Center of Plant Diversity by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Plant Conservation Program.
Location
Hoang Lien National Park is located in Vietnam's mountainous northwest region and includes Fansipan, the highest mountain in Vietnam and on the Indochinese Peninsula.
The total area of the core national park is 29,845 hectares (115.23 square miles), which includes a strictly protected area of 11,875 hectares; a "forest rehabilitation area" of 17,900 hectares; and an administration services area of 70 hectares. The core part of Hoang Lien National Park is located within San Sa Ho, Lao Chai, Ta Van, Ban Ho populated places, Sa Pa district, Lao Cai Province, and a part of Muong Khoa, Than Thuoc communes, Than Uyen district.
The total surrounding area, the Hoang Lien Son-Van Ban section, is 38,724 hectares (149.51 square miles), which includes Sa Pa town and a few communes within Sa Pa and Van Ban districts, Lao Cai Province; and 2 communes within Phong Tho district, Lai Chau. Six ethnic groups live in this area, with the Dao and H'mong people being the largest groups.
Biodiversity
Hoang Lien National Park is home to many types of plants and animals, including several that are rare or at risk of disappearing.
More than 3,000 plant species have been identified in the park, many of which are found only in this area or are in danger of extinction. The park’s mountainous landscape causes different plant communities to appear at different elevations, with tropical plants near the bottom and temperate alpine plants at higher altitudes. About 25% of Vietnam’s plants that are found only in this country live on Fansipan mountain.
At the start of the 21st century, scientists recorded 199 species of butterflies in the park. For moths, one species, the Tortricid Fansipaniana, is named after Fansipan mountain, where it was first discovered. Other moth species include 78 sphynx moths and 286 Noctuidae moths.
Ten animal species and four bird species that are endangered worldwide have been found in the park, including the Fansipan shrew mole. The number of mammals in the park is low because of illegal hunting.
In 1999, 347 bird species were recorded in and near the park, with 49 of them found only in North-west Tonkin, Vietnam. Fansipan mountain is the location where the snake Protobothrops cornutus was first identified. About one-third of Vietnam’s amphibian species live in the park. Between 1997 and 1998, 38 types of frogs and toads were observed in the park.