BEIJING, Oct 14 (Reuter) - A flood of more than 30,000 peasant prospectors into a remote mountainous region in western China in search of gold has prompted the government to close all mines in the area, Xinhua news agency said on Saturday.

Earlier this month, officials had said mines in the Hoh Xil area of western Qinghai province would be closed from January 1, 1996.

To ensure that all mines are closed, government departments have joined forces to check on all mines in the area to crack down on illegal mining and "to persuade" gold miners, most of them peasant farmers, to leave the region, Xinhua said.

The crackdown was intended to help manage and protect gold reserves and wild animals and plants in Hoh Xil.

The so-called "no man's land" of Hoh Xil lies to the south of the Kunlun mountains and in the north of Tanggula range at an altitude of about 5,000 metres (16,500 feet) and is one of the most remote and sparsely populated areas of China.

In 1984, thousands of farmers living nearby swarmed in to prospect for gold and to hunt rare animals. "The farmers' 'crazy behavior' has seriously damaged the government-run gold mines and wild animals in the region," Xinhua said.

Hoh Xil's gold mines will use more advanced methods in future and state-owned and collective gold mines with modern equipment and technology will be encouraged on condition production is planned and the grasslands protected, Xinhua quoted local officials as saying.