China released an overall plan on the development and management of national parks to protect its natural beauty on Tuesday. The country has 10 pilot national parks, which are expected to undergo assessments in the coming years and could then be termed national parks.

1. Sanjiangyuan National Park

Location: Northwest China's Qinghai province

Total area: 123,100 square kilometers

Sanjiangyuan is the first and biggest of 10 pilot national parks in the country. Sanjiangyuan, or "Source of Three Rivers", is where the Yellow, Yangtze, and Lancang rivers originate. The whole area provides 49 percent of the water discharge of the Yellow River, 25 percent of the water discharge of the Yangtze, and 15 percent of the water discharge of the Lancang. It is known as China's "water tower".

2. Giant Panda National Park

Location: Sichuan, Gansu and Shaanxi provinces

Total area: 27,000 square kilometers

The habitats of giant pandas in China are scattered. The trial national park of the animal will help connect loosely distributed reserves. The move will also promote genes flow of giant pandas between their different natural environments.

3. National Park for Siberian Tiger and Siberian Leopard

Location: Northeast China's Jilin and Heilongjiang provinces

Total area: 14,600 square kilometers

Wild Siberian tigers are one of the endangered wild animals, with only 500 estimated to be living in the world. Siberian leopards are one of the most endangered large cat subspecies, with only about 50 wild ones left -- most of them living at the border of China and Russia.

In 1998 and 1999, only 12 to 16 wild Siberian tigers and seven to 12 wild Siberian leopards lived in Northeast China, the number rising to 27 and 42, respectively, by 2014 after conservation efforts.

4. Shennongjia National Park

Location: Central China's Hubei province

Total area: 1,170 square kilometers

Shennongjia is situated in the west of the province, not far from the entrance to the Three Gorges. It's part of a number of mountain ranges that close to the Sichuan Basin on its eastern side.

All the mountains are karstic, a kind of lime that turns into a gigantic sponge-like form with cavities that range from the size of your finger to those of caves.

5. Qianjiangyuan National Park

Location: East China's Zhejiang province

Total area: 252 square kilometers

Qianjiangyuan, or the source of Qiantang River, has a wide range of primary forest. It is the habitats of endangered Elliot's pheasants and tufted deer, both native to China. The tufted deer is a small species of deer characterized by a prominent tuft of black hair on its forehead and fang-like canines for the males.

The national park also has a variety of seed plants.

6. Mount Nanshan National Park

Location: Central China's Hunan province

Total area: 619 square kilometers

This area is like a nature museum with a very complete ecological system. There are forests, lakes, and rich biological resources. It's also a stopover site for tens of thousands of migratory birds.

7. Mount Wuyi National Park

Location: Southeast China's Fujian province

Total area: 983 square kilometers

The Wuyi Mountains is one of the most spectacularly beautiful areas in China. The area is well known for its abundance of deep canyons, mid-subtropical forests and rare, native animals.

8. Great Wall National Park

Location: North China's Beijing

Total area: 60 square kilometers

This is the smallest national park and the only historic relic kind of the 10 pilot parks.

The national park combines parts of the World Geopark at Yanqing district, the Badaling and Ming Dynasty Tombs scenic area, the Badaling forest park and the Badaling Great Wall world cultural heritage.

9. Pudacuo National Park

Location: Southwest China's Yunnan province

Total area: 1,313 square kilometers

Pudacuo, or Potatso, National Park is located in the province's Shangri-La county. The region of this park contains more than 20 percent of China's plant species, about one-third of its mammal and bird species and almost 100 endangered species, though it comprises only 0.7 percent of the country's land area.

It is notably home to vulnerable Black-necked cranes, many rare and beautiful orchids, and Himalayan Yew, a coniferous tree whose extracts are a source of the anticancer drug, paclitaxel.

10. Mount Qilian National Park

Location: Northwest China's Gansu and Qinghai provinces

Total area: 50,000 square kilometers

The altitude of Qilian Mountains ranges from 4,000 to 6,000 meters. Mountain snow forms a long and wide glacier landscape. The four seasons at the mountains are never very clear. In July and August, the mountains are still covered with snow.

The area is prominent habitats of snow leopards, white-lipped deer and other endangered wild animals and plants. It's also an important passage for some wild migratory animals.