The world's highest national park at altitude opened on Friday in southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region.
The Qomolangma National Park, located at the border of China and Nepal, covers six counties of the region's Xigaze Prefecture with a total area of 78,000 square kilometers.
It includes five mountain peaks with altitudes of more than 8,000 meters, such as Mount Qomolangma. More than 10 others are over 7,000 meters, according to Sun Yongping, deputy chief of the region's tourism bureau.
Ecological valleys and culture-themed zones, hot springs and snow-coated forests are also within the park.
"The national park will be focused on the protection of the ecology and biodiversity and prevention from illegal resource exploitation or land use," Sun said.
As the world's highest peak, 8,848-meter-high Mount Qomolangma is favored by tourists from all over the world. This year, the zone has received more than 73,000 tourists.
It is Tibet's third national park following the Namtso National Park, which opened ealier this week and the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon National Park, which opened in 2010.
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