Hypogymnia magnifica X.L.Wei & McCune is described as a new species of lichenized fungi from high elevations in Yunnan and Sichuan Provinces in southwestern China. Previously lumped under H. taiwanalpina, H. magnifica is readily distinguished from that species by its large size (commonly to 30 cm or more diam.), broad, rather appressed lobes that are contiguous to subcontiguous, sparse perforations in the upper and lateral surfaces, whitish color in the field (when dry), and lacking 3-hydroxyphysodic acid. Hypogymnia magnifica and H. taiwanalpina appear to be allopatric, with the former restricted to southwestern China and the latter restricted to far-east Asia (Taiwan and Japan).