China Wants to Build Its Own Version of Yellowstone National Park on Tibetan Plateau

Since being named the nation's first National Park in 1872, Yellowstone has become one of the most iconic sites in America. Now, China is looking to establish its own version of the park. As the Associated Press reports, China is developing a national parks system inspired by the program in the U.S., starting with a preserve partly modeled on Yellowstone.

Sanjiangyuan will be China's first national park and it's expected to debut in 2020. The park sits in the Qinghai province in Western China's Tibetan Plateau, which is home to rapid urban development as well as some of the last truly remote places on Earth. The region also contains many of the last snow leopards living in the wild. Snow leopards are a vulnerable species, and the location for China's pilot park was partly chosen to provide them a safe haven as well protect the 1500 other species of endangered and threatened animals and plants that live within its borders.

Conserving species and natural wonders are the main goals of the country's new parks system. When the plan was in development, Chinese officials visited American sites like Yosemite and Yellowstone to see what a successful national park looks like. They also invited policy makers and scientists from the U.S. and elsewhere to Qinghai province to consult on the project.

China's program won't be an exact replica of what's already been done in the United States, of course. There are currently 128,000 people living in or around the land set to become Sanjiangyuan, and they will continue to reside there when the park opens next year. Officials plan to work with local communities to manage the site; one program called “One Family, One Ranger” hires a member from each local family to be a trash collector or ranger for the park for about $255 a month.