Hoh Xil

Hoh Xil ( _mn. Khökh shil, Хөхшил "Blue ridge"; zh-cp|c=可可西里|p=Kěkěxīlǐ; Tibetan: "khu khu zhil" ཁུ་ཁུ་ཞིལ།) is an isolated region in the northwestern part of the Tibetan plateau in China. It is China's least and the world's third-least populated area.

The region covers 83,000 square kilometres at an average elevation of 4,800 meters, between the Tanggula and Kunlun mountain chains in the border areas of Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region, Northwest China's Qinghai Province and the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. It is one of the major headwater sources of the Yangtze River. 45,000 square kilometres, at an average elevation of 4,600 metres, were made into a national nature reserve in 1995. The Qingzang railway runs along the eastern boundary of the reserve [http://www.usembassy-china.org.cn/sandt/ptr/Qingzang-Railway-prt.htm] .

Despite the harsh climate, Hoh Xil is home to more than 230 species of wild animals, 20 of which are under state protection, including the wild yak, wild donkey, white-lip deer, brown bear and the endangered Tibetan antelope or "chiru".

The hitherto little-known region, as well the struggling Tibetan antelope, became household names in China upon the release of the film "" in 2004.

ee also

* Geography of Tibet
* Geography of China

External links

* [http://www.kekexili.com/english Save the Chiru]
* [http://english.enorth.com.cn/kekexili/kekexili.htm Kekexili on enorth.com]
* [http://kekexili.typepad.com/life_on_the_tibetan_plate/2006/08/kekexili.html Kekexili: Life on the Tibetan Plateau]