Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark Team Visited Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark

From August 2 to 5, 2023, a six-people-team of Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark staff and experts went to Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark for study and communication. The team visited Tianchi and Halaha areas and the geopark museum to learn about the experience of geoheritage protection, ecological civilization construction, science popularization reading materials’ compilation, and visibility improvement of the Arxan UGGp. They also joined a communication conference with the Administration for Arxan National Geopark.

During the conference, the two geoparks introduced their basic information and recent achievements. They discussed the legislative work to protect geoheritages, the study of the mechanism of geological landforms, the development of the geopark school and geopark community, and the construction of the geoparks network. After the conference, the two sides signed the sister geoparks agreements, building a fundamental for further cooperation.

The manager of Zhangye UGGp stated that the Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark boost of rich natural resources and the most comprehensive types of volcanic geoheritages which have high scientific significance and science popularization meaning and the Administration for Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark ascended remarkable achievements in recent years on the detailed survey of geoheritages’ types and amounts, the publication of science popularization reading materials and scientific treatises, and the leading roles on the development of community and tourism industries. Zhangye UGGp will learn from these advanced experiences to improve the management, deepen the cooperation, strengthen the research and popularization on the geoheritages, increase the transformation of scientific research results, promote the community, and play the brand driving role of the UNESCO Global Geopark.

On September 9, 2006, the Arxan geopark was approved as a national geopark by the Ministry of Land and Resources. And in 2017, it became a UNESCO Global Geopark. It has a total area of 3,653 km², consisting of Tianchi, Hot Springs, Halaha, and Haosengou areas. There are multiple volcanic activities in the Quaternary period within the geopark, forming widespread volcanic rock landforms. According to incomplete statistics, there are 47 volcanic craters in the Mount Arxan Volcanic-Hot Spring National Geopark. These volcanoes have left a series of volcanic geoheritages in previous eruptions, including lava flows, volcanic debris deposits, lava tunnels, jet cones (discs), lava canyons, craters, crater lakes, lava barrier lakes, and so on. Moreover, it is also the highest concentration and largest number of high-level volcanic crater lakes discovered in the world, with a total of 7 crater lakes within its territory.