Hoh Xil, 'beautiful girl' on Qinghai-Tibet Plateau (1/6)

Hoh Xil is the largest natural reserve area in China with highest altitude as well as one of the most primitive and well-preserved natural environment in the world.

Because of the high altitude and fierce weather, it is impossible for people to live there, and this is the very reason why Hoh Xil is the paradise of wild lives.

Hoh Xil is situated at the Yushu Tibetan Autonomous Region in southwest Qinghai, and has an average altitude of more than 4,600 meters. Low temperature, rare rainfall and strong wind are the major features of Hoh Xil.

Hoh Xil, which means "beautiful girl" in Mongolian, is one of the main sources of the Yangtze River and encompasses an area of 83,000 square kilometers between the Tanggula and Kunlun Mountains in the northwestern part of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

It is China's largest and the world's third largest uninhabited area. Being the paradise for wildlife and home to more than 230 species of wild animals, Hoh Xil has 20 of them under state protection, including the wild yak, the Tibetan antelope, the wild donkey, the white-lip deer, and the brown bear.