Hunan Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest Geopark — Among China's First Batch of 22 World Geoparks
Hunan Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest Geopark — Among China's First Batch of 22 World Geoparks. ●First batch (8 parks, approved in 2004). ★Anhui Huangshan Geopark—characterized by Mesozoic granite landforms. Its granite landforms, Quaternary glacial relics, hydrogeological relics, etc., constitute a large natural museum of granite terrain.
This article is compiled from the original travel notes on the "Zhangjiajie Tour Guide Network" (33519.com); it is a record of trips from earlier years. Time-sensitive information such as ticket prices, schedules, and accommodation prices is subject to the latest announcements from scenic areas and transportation authorities; the itinerary ideas and attraction introductions still have reference value.
Hunan Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest Geological Park is among the first batch of China's 22 World Geoparks
●First batch (8, approved in 2004)
★Anhui Huangshan Geological Park—characterized by Mesozoic granite landforms. Its granite landforms, Quaternary glacial relics, hydrogeological relics, etc., constitute a large natural museum of granite areas. Located within Huangshan City, Anhui Province.
★Jiangxi Lushan Geological Park—features horst-type fault-block mountains and Quaternary glacial relics, as well as Quaternary glacial stratigraphic sections and Early Proterozoic Xingzi Rock Group stratigraphic sections. Located in Jiujiang City, Jiangxi Province, adjacent to Poyang Lake and the Yangtze River.
★Henan Yuntai Mountain Geopark is characterized by monoclinal mountain landforms formed by tectonic movement, cliffside waterfalls, and secluded valleys with clear springs. Visitors can admire the "Yuntai landform" with its array of clustered gorges, interlaced peaks and valleys, and terraced cliffs and platforms. It is located within Xiuwu County, Jiaozuo City, Henan Province.
★Yunnan Stone Forest Geopark is dominated by stone forest landform landscapes of peculiar shapes and complex evolution, and is one of the areas with the greatest variety of stone forest karst types in the world. It is located within Shilin Yi Autonomous County, Kunming City, Yunnan Province, 78 kilometers from the center of Kunming.
★Guangdong Danxia Mountain Geopark is the place after which Danxia landform is named. Any landform in the world composed of red continental sandstone and conglomerate and characterized by red cliffs is called Danxia landform. It is located at the border between Renhua and Qujiang counties northeast of Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province.
★Hunan Zhangjiajie Sandstone Peak Forest Geopark features geological relics such as sandstone peak forests, barrier gorges and ravines, karst caves, and paleontological fossils. It is an extremely rare sandstone peak forest landform in the world and is of great scientific value. It is located in Zhangjiajie City, Hunan Province.
★Heilongjiang Wudalianchi Geopark has geological relics of the volcanic geological landform type. It contains the world's most completely preserved, most typical, and most recent volcanic cluster, and is known as the "China Volcano Museum." It is located in Wudalianchi City, Heilongjiang Province.
★Henan Songshan Geopark exposes strata from five geological historical periods since 3.5 billion years ago: the Archean, Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. The stratigraphic sequence is clear and the structural features are typical, and it is called by the geological community "five generations under one roof." It is located in Dengfeng City, Henan Province.
●Second batch (4 sites, approved in 2005)
★Zhejiang Yandang Mountain Geopark experienced four phases of volcanic eruptions, recording the entire process from volcanic eruption, collapse, and resurgence to uplift, and is called by the scientific community a "drill bit for understanding the Earth." It is located in Wenzhou City, Zhejiang Province.
★Fujian Taining Geopark is dominated by typical youthful-stage Danxia landform, and also contains various geological relics such as volcanic rocks, granite, and tectonic landforms. It is located in Taining County in northwestern Fujian Province.
★Inner Mongolia Keshiketeng Geopark has 10 types of geological and landform landscapes, including glacial landforms, granite landforms, volcanic landforms, canyon landforms, rock mortars, and hot springs, and is of typical geological significance. It is located in Chifeng City, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
★Sichuan Yibin Xingwen Stone Sea Geopark has widely distributed limestone, and special geographical conditions have formed Xingwen-style karst landform. It is the earliest place in China where tiankeng were studied and named. It is located in Xingwen County, Yibin City, Sichuan Province.
●Third batch (6 sites, approved in 2006)
★Shandong Taishan Geopark has rock strata that are the oldest in North China and is a natural laboratory for exploring the mysteries of Earth's early history. It has important scientific research value for petrology, stratigraphy and paleontology, sedimentology, tectonics, and geomorphology. It is located in Tai'an City, Shandong Province.
★Henan Wangwushan-Daimeishan Geopark has typical geological sections and geological landform landscapes. It is located in northwestern Jiyuan City and northern Xin'an County of Luoyang City, Henan Province, and consists of Wangwu Mountain, Daimei Mountain, and the Yellow River valley.
★Leiqiong Geopark is a volcanological and petrological record of the occurrence and evolution of the Leiqiong Rift and the expansion of the South China Sea Basin, with a total of 101 volcanoes. It is located on both sides of the Qiongzhou Strait and consists of the Haikou park area in Hainan Province and the Zhanjiang park area in Guangdong Province.
★Beijing Fangshan Geopark records the history of climate change and geographical environment evolution from the Archean through the Proterozoic, Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. It is located about 40 kilometers southwest of Beijing, spanning Fangshan District of Beijing and Baoding City of Hebei Province. The park includes 8 park areas, including the Zhoukoudian "Peking Man Site," Shihua Cave, Shidu, Baihua Mountain-Baicaopan, and Yunju Temple-Shangfang Mountain.
★Heilongjiang Jingpo Lake Geopark's geological research value is embodied in the completeness of the entire process of formation of the volcanic lava barrier lake. It is located within Ning'an City, Heilongjiang Province, 70 kilometers from Ning'an City and 110 kilometers from Mudanjiang City.
★Henan Funiu Mountain Geopark has yielded 8 families, 12 genera, and 36 species of Cretaceous dinosaur egg fossils, among which the "Xixia long cylindrical egg" is rare in the world. It was formed by integrating a national geopark, a world biosphere reserve, a national nature reserve for dinosaur egg fossil groups, and others. It is located in Nanyang City, Henan Province.
●Fourth batch (2 sites, approved in 2008)
★Jiangxi Longhu Mountain Geopark has been famous throughout history for its Danxia fairyland, Taoist center, and ancient cliff tomb complex. It consists of the Longhu Mountain park area, Guifeng park area, and Xiangshan park area, and is located within Yingtan City and Shangrao City, Jiangxi Province.
★Sichuan Zigong Geopark is one of the world's most important dinosaur fossil sites. The park consists of the Dashanpu dinosaur fossil group relic park area, the Zigong salt industry science and technology park area, and the Rongxian Qinglong Mountain dinosaur fossil group relic park area, and is located in Zigong City, Sichuan Province.
●Fifth batch (2 sites, approved in 2009)
★Qinling Zhongnan Mountain Geopark is characterized by geological relics of the Qinling orogenic belt, Quaternary geological relics, landform relics, and ancient human relics. It consists of 5 themed park areas, including the Cuihua Mountain landslide landform park area and the Lishan rift horst structure park area, as well as two scientific investigation routes, Heihe and Fengyu. It is located in Xi'an City, Shaanxi Province.
★Alxa Desert Geopark is the world's only desert world geopark. Its landforms are dominated by desert and gobi, and it is a natural museum for studying the formation, development, and evolution of deserts. It consists of 3 park areas, Badain Jaran, Tengger, and Juyan, and is located in Alxa League, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.