A Team of Zhangye UGGp Staff and Expert Visited Arxan UGGp and Hexigten UGGp
From July 2 to 10, 2023, a six-people-team of Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark staff and experts went to Arxan UGGp and Hexigten UGGp for communication and exchange.
Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark is located in the jurisdiction of Xing’an League in China’s Autonomous Region of Inner Mongolia. Arxan is a mid-low mountain region situated in the southwestern part of the middle section of the Daxing’anling range. The elevation ranges from 820 to 1,750 meters, with an average of 1,100 meters. The UNESCO Global Geopark has a cold, temperate, continental monsoon climate, and the temperature is prone to drastic changes. The area is located at the point where the eastern Tianshan-Xing’an fold zone meets with the Daxing’anling giant uplift belt of the Cathaysian tectonic system. It is a topographic boundary zone and a crust transition zone. As a volcanic-tectonic unit, it is part of the Datong-Daxing’anling Cenozoic volcanic zone. The UNESCO Global Geopark has abundant geomorphological landforms (volcanoes, granite peaks and rivers) and water landscapes (natural springs, volcanogenic lakes, scenic river reaches). Unique are the basaltic lava deposits, which due to gradually cooling have left a turtle shell pattern at the surface. The turtleback lava in Arxan UNESCO Global Geopark is the only large-scale, well-developed and intact turtleback lava in China and it is also rare in the world.
From August 2 to 5, the team visited Arxan UGGp. They went to volcanic lakes such as Tuofengling Tianchi, Dujuan Lake, and Dichi Pond, volcanic lava landscapes such as jet dish, lava valley (pit), rope-like lava, and the Geopark Museum. They exchanged experiences in management, interpretations kills, personnel, service, science popularization, and educational activities.
Hexigten UNESCO Global Geopark is located in China’s Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region at the junction of the Great Xing'an Mountains and Hunshandak Desert. Hexigten is at the junction of three important landforms, Daxing’anling Ranges, Yanshan Mountains, and Otindag Sandy Land. Hexigten UNESCO Global Geopark is characterized by its unique, beautiful, systematic and comprehensive geoheritage, which represents major geoheritage types in the central Inner Mongolia. Hexigten UNESCO Global Geopark lies at the collision of the North China Platform and Xingmeng Geosyncline at the site of convergence of three distinct vegetation types. The climate is a combination of the arid Mongolian climate to the north and the more humid climate to the south and east. This setting makes Hexigten unique and provides for the several distinct scenic areas such as: Arshihaty granite forest area, Qingshan granite mortar area, Dali Nur volcanic landform area, Huanggangliang Quaternary glacial vestige area, Reshuitang thermal spring area, Pingdingshan scenic Quaternary cirque group area, Xilamulun River valley area, and Hunshandak sand land area.
From August 7 to 10, the team inspected the Hexigten UGGp on-site. They visited geoheritages such as the newly discovered ancient ice wedges, the Haolai River, which is the narrowest river in the world, and the Wudao Shimen Ophiolite. They also went deep into the Arshihaty granite forest area, Qingshan granite mortar area, and Geopark Square to learn detailed experiences in the construction and management of geoparks, scientific research cooperation, geoheritage protection, and development of geological tourism.
After that, the two geoparks took an exchange conference to discuss the management and construction of the geoparks, geoheritage protection, revalidation, project planning, and scientific popularization and research. Zhangye Geopark signed "sister park" agreements with Arxan Geopark and Hexigten Geopark after each conference, formally concluding friendly and cooperative relationships. Zhangye UNESCO Global Geopark will take this visit as an opportunity to strengthen communication and exchange, deepen cooperation with sister parks in science popularization and research, cultural and creative product development, geopark activities, and other aspects, and constantly improve the management level, explanation skills, personnel quality, and service level of Zhangye Geopark.
