Latest News from Paris, France: Zhangye Geopark Was Named as UNESCO Global Geopark Successfully

On July 7, 2020, the Executive Board of UNESCO organized the 209th annual meeting in Paris, France, 15 geoparks approved   as global geoparks, Zhangye Geopark is also on the list, obtaining the international name card of UNESCO Global Geopark.

Zhangye Global Geopark is located in Zhangye City, Gansu Province, taking Sunan Yugur Autonomous County as the center and covering a total area of 1289.71 square kilometers. The park is located at the transitional boundary of first step between Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and Inner Mongolia Plateau, the middle of the north slope of Qilian Mountains, and   the transition belt from Qilian Mountains to Hexi Corridor. The ophiolite suite of the Jiugequan in the southwest of the geopark is an important material of the oceanic crust about 500 million years ago, which records the evolution history from ancient Qilian Ocean to Qilian Mountains. The Caiqiu(Colorful Hills) is like the colorful silk floating on the Hexi Corridor. It is one of the geological wonders due to its varied colors, strange shapes and large scale. The unique window lattice-Palatial Danxia is a typical representative of Danxia Landform in North China. Heihe, the second largest inland river in China, runs through the park, nourishing the Multi-ethnic residents represented by Yugur nationality and the diverse flora and fauna in the park, abundant neotectonic heritage in front of the Qilian Mountains record the uplifting process of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau over 65 million years. Precious and beautiful geological relics, fragile and diverse ecological landscape and centuries-old unique ethnic customs are permeated and mingled with each other, creating a resource-rich and colorful Zhangye Geopark and writing a splendid chapter of Zhangye on the New Silk Road of the New Era.