The Development of Zhangye Geopark and Women
Zhangye Geopark is the only compound zone of Danxia landform and colorful hills nationwide, which integrates scientific research, scientific education, sightseeing, history and culture, ethnic customs, as well as geosites protection and forms a large scale geological park with high-qualified values of tourism and scientific research.
Zhangye National Geopark Administration firmly sticks to the developing concept of “the harmonious development between humans and nature”, takes improving community-woman overall qualities and raising their abilities of making fortune as the important direction, organizes community women to actively join in the development of tourism resources, enables the community women to receive full development in the process of exploiting values of geopark, some of them quickly involved in and became qualified service members. Meanwhile, the cultural and tourism industry of Zhangye Geopark achieved its brand-image target and raised service quality due to women’s efforts and passion.
Women bring warmer atmosphere to geopark
Women’s personalities of diligence, carefulness and consideration make the tourism service more humanizing and approachable. In the reception services, women are the majority. There are 350 staff members in scenic area in total and 189 of them are women which overpass 50%. There are 301 members in colorful hills area and women occupied 162 seats; there are 31 members in Binggou Danxia landform area and 17 women among them; 10 women are in Chinese Yugur Customs Corridor which has total staff members of 18. Women not only take advantage of the quantity, but also occupy the front-line positions like guide, ticket service, sanitation service and marketing. Comparing to men, women are more sensitive and careful, they hold big advantage on expressing sentiment and sensing it, communicating with women service members, tourists would experience deeper hospitality of the park and goodness of the northwestern people. Women are creators of the spiritual civilization in Zhangye Geopark, as well as the exhibitors and disseminators.
Women make the significance of geopark profounder
In recent years, women cultural creative organizations that surrounded the Zhangye Geopark have formed into large scale. 12 women groups of cultural creation have been established, 7 women professional cooperatives of cultural creation have been organized, they created a batch of products containing the features of geopark and Yugur ethnic culture, such as straw products, carved gourds, woven bead products, embroideries, dolls, etc., over 200 classifications create annual output value of more than 5 million Yuan. The significance of women cultural creative organizations is not only showing women’s efforts of promoting geopark’s development, but also highlighting that the women organizations are preserving and passing down the culture which completes the multi-functions of geopark as well. Good cultural creative products play the role of promoting geopark. The colorful sand bottle, created by women cultural creative organizations of Colorful Hills Zone, based on the characteristic landscape of colorful hills showing clear stripes of the landform, is exhibiting the marvelous scenery in a small glass bottle, it is so delicate and unique that perfectly matching tourists’ choices of purchasing local products. Women-developing, women-producing and women-selling mode makes the geopark more approachable to the public, it combines the profound culture with the ordinary life and creates a large number of qualified goods. Meanwhile, the products shorten the distance between the public and geopark and attract more and more tourists to get into the geopark.
Women raise the geopark’s level
Women workers in Geopark actively participate in various social voluntary service activities while doing a solid job in tourist service, establishing a new culture of civilization and improving service level. According to incomplete statistics, at present, two-thirds of women workers in geopark have voluntarily joined the “Jingguo(Jingguo stands for woman) Volunteers”. In spare time, women take full use of some occasions like Learn from Leifeng Day, Women’s day, International Earth day, Children’s day, International Environment day, Double Ninth Festival, etc., propagandize laws, environmental protection, caring for the elder and children, provide information services and guide services and maintain the tourism order, truly achieve their goal of “work well inside and be model to the outside”. In recent three years, the Jingguo Volunteers group in Zhangye geopark has conducted over 50 voluntary activities and taken part in various practical activities more than 80 times, the participants over 500 achieve their goal of “set Jingguo’s model and show Jinguo’s demeanor”. Through voluntary activities, women convey love, propagandize civilization and strengthen the care of humanity towards tourists which raised the level of geopark’s whole image. Besides, women also received improvement through all kinds of activities, which enriched their spare-time lives, enhanced their awareness of geoheritage protection and strengthened their abilities of organizing, managing, learning and social contact.
Women make geopark wider
In recent years, with the continuous development, Zhangye Geopark widens its influence accordingly, which motivates and supports the surrounded communities’ economic development, especially promotes rural tourism. Nantai Village of Nijiaying Township in Linze County, Eastern Niumao Village of Baiyin Township in Sunan County, Western Niumao Village of Baiyin Township in Sunan County, Yumuzhuang Village of Kangle Township in Sunan County, etc. obtained strong motivation and vitality to develop further. Nantai Village of Nijiaying Township in Linze County sticks to the idea of “combining countryside with tourism, promoting tourism with countryside, and vitalizing countryside with tourism”, successively established “the most beautiful holidaying village” “the model tourism village in China” “beautiful Chinese village” and so on. Behind all these honors, women’s faculties are brought into full play. In developing family farms, professional cooperative communities, holidaying agriculture, village restaurants, women have become the backbone, they actively participated in various industries like hotel, catering, homestay, tourism orchard and formed various job-creation modes. According to incomplete statistics, there are 46 village restaurants and homestays established by women in Zhangye Geopark and they are still extending in scale. Female employees increase continuously and up to 3400 staffs, occupying over 60% of the whole employees. Moreover, the number of women industry brands is growing and their social influences are profounder.
Women in Zhangye Geopark are embracing unprecedented confidence and taking full advantage of rich resources, they are creating their own lives.