Hoh Xil: Protection Zones and Patrol Work

Hoh Xil is part of Sanjiangyuan National Park. A 2025 report from the National Forestry and Grassland Administration describes two broad management areas: a core zone with the strictest protection and a general control zone. In Hoh Xil, the Qinghai–Tibet Highway roughly separates the sparsely inhabited west from the east, where limited human activity occurs.

The report traces a longer management shift. National-park pilots began in 2015; Sanjiangyuan National Park was formally established in 2021. Its boundaries organize conservation work across a very large landscape, where wildlife habitat and fragile ground are managed through different rules.

At the Sonam Dargye Protection Station, a sign marks a temporary point where staff turn back people attempting illegal entry. Patrols once focused heavily on stopping poaching and extraction; the report says teams now also respond to unauthorized self-drive crossings. Staff explain the protection rules and keep vehicles from entering restricted areas.

The report records tire marks across landforms, disturbance near breeding wildlife and waste left in remote areas. Rangers patrol, warn and enforce restrictions across terrain whose scale can obscure its ecological vulnerability.