China says it will finish pilot programs for establishing national parks by 2020. The statement comes in an overall plan for the establishment of the country’s national park system released on Tuesday.

"This marks the completion of the top-level design of the national park system, and the beginning of the next stage of substantial construction," said Wang Yi, deputy head of the Institute of Science and Development at the Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The country has set up 10 pilot programs for the national park system, the first of which is Sanjiangyuan, or Source of Three Rivers, referring to the Yangtze, the Yellow River, and the Lancang River, or Mekong River as it’s known internationally. The national park was established in April, 2016. Located high on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, with an average altitude of over 4,500 meters, Sanjiangyuan National Park spans an area of more than 120,000 square kilometers, 13 times larger than Yellowstone in the US, the first national park in the world, established in 1872. 

The plan also says the country's national parks will follow the principle of "ecological protection first." National parks are one of the most important types of protected natural areas and will be managed according to a red line system.

CGTN has sent a crew to Sanjiangyuan National Park. More reports to come.