Although the Oriental Goddess, a pictographical peak in Sanqing
Mountain in Shangrao in east China's Jiangxi Province, is not as famous as the
Statue of Liberty in New York, its impact will definitely outstrip
the latter, as it was created by nature more than 140 million years
ago.
Dubbed the "first fairy mountain of Jiangxi Province," the
Sanqing Mountain in Shangrao, a newly developed tourist attraction
featuring granite forests, gorges and unique ecological scenes,
have recently attracted the attention of the world's geology
circle.
In a bid to strengthen exchanges with international granite
geoparks and to further reveal the law of the formation and
development of granite geology and landforms, as well as to better
explore natural landscape resources, Shangrao city government
hosted the First International Symposium on Granite Geology and
Landscapes on July 24, 2006.
More than 160 foreign and domestic specialists and
representatives specializing in geology, geogramorphology and
tourism gathered in the city to take part in the meeting;
elaborating and exchanging their viewpoints on the formation and
evolution process and law of granite landscapes in the Sanqing
Mountain.
They put forward suggestions on environmental protection,
keeping a balance between the development of tourism and protection
of geological resources, and the preparation for application for
world geoparks and natural geoheritages.
"The symposium, the first of its kind in the city, is a great
event for academic research on granite geology and landscapes, and
is also a grand exchange platform for the construction of granite
geoparks," said Shangrao Vice-Mayor Xiao Tianlian at the opening
ceremony.
With China's fast-growing social and economic development,
tourists have higher requirements for geoparks and their scientific
popularization. One of the important goals of geoparks is to
protect natural and cultural resources and biodiversity, with
scientific research as its base, said Xiao.
"Currently, it is urgent for us to conduct scientific research
and promote science popularization for the people. This symposium
meets the needs for the development of China's geoparks and scenic
spots as well as other tourism areas," said the vice-mayor.
The Sanqing Mountain
A famous national geopark in Shangrao, Sanqing Mountain has
drawn great attention from the participants of the symposium.
Xiao said, through 20 years' development, the Sanqing Mountain
has won many glorious titles from the State, including national
scenic spot, national four-A tourism area, national geopark, one of
the first batches of national natural heritage sites, national
model of scenic area and national base of patriotism education.
At the symposium, Liu Shuzong, Party secretary of the Sanqing
Mountain National Park, also gave a brief introduction to Sanqing
Mountain.
He said the mountain is located in the northeast of Shangrao,
boasting a total area of more than 700 square kilometres and 10
major scenic spots.
In geological history, the area went through violent orogenic
movements, explaining why the peaks can reach the clouds. The long
periods of erosion and the effect of gravity collapse has also
contributed to the wonderful view of towering cliffs and deep
secluded valleys.
The mountain has 64 fantastic peaks and 382 grotesque rocks. The
highest peak, called Yujing Peak, stands at 1,816.9 metres above
sea level. To the north of Yujing are two peaks sitting parallel,
the Yuxu Peak and Yuhua Peak. The three peaks tower into the sky
like three immortals sitting in a line with hovering clouds around
their shoulders, said Liu.
The mountain is also known for its ancient pine trees of various
gestures. The rhododendron flowers dotted over the hills and slopes
in late spring and early summer lure tourists from home and
abroad.
When mentioning the unique attractiveness of the mountain, Liu
quoted Qin Mu, a famous Chinese prose writer, as saying, "The
Sanqing Mountain is the hometown of clouds, a gallery of pine trees
and fantastic rocks, and is a great, natural Chinese painting."
After hard work and strong support from local authorities, the
basic facilities of Sanqing Mountain National Park have gradually
been completed and its management updated.
With the scientific and aesthetic value of the area's granite
forest landscapes becoming clear and attractive, the number of
tourists increased to more than 500,000 in 2005 from 100,000 in
2003. The ticket income in the first half of this year exceeded the
whole year in 2004, said Liu.
According to the national park's 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10),
it intends to invest 3 billion yuan (US$375 million) to build a
tourism zone and a service zone. By 2010, the number of visitors is
expected to hit more than 1 million with ticket income surpassing
100 million yuan (US$12.5 million), said Liu.
Hot topics
Experts from home and abroad exchanged their views on granite
landforms, geology, geopark construction and other hot topics at
the symposium.
The general goal of geoparks to integrate the preservation of
geological heritage into a strategy for regional sustainable
socio-economic and cultural development serves ideally the overall
objective of the International Year of Planet Earth (IYPE), which
will be held in 2008, Dr Franz Wolfgang Eder, honorary member of
the World Geoparks of the United Nations Education, Scientific and
Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and member of the board of IYPE,
told the symposium.
The Year and the geopark initiative have been well supported in
the past and currently by China. China's authorities understand
that geoparks, as well as the Year are excellent tools for
educating the public at large on earth science, geo-environmental
management and sustainable development, said Eder.
As a fundamental part of the natural world, geology and
landscapes have had a profound influence on society, civilization
and cultural diversity. The use of land for agriculture, forestry,
mining, quarrying and for building homes, cities and tourism
destinations is intimately related to the underlying rocks, soils
and landforms, said Eder.
In his presentation named "Granite landscape geodiversity at its
best", Piotr Migon, professor from the Department of Geography and
Regional Development with the University of Wroclaw, Poland, said
geodiversity has values involving existence, culture, aesthetics,
economy, functions, research and education.
Individual landforms can be visually striking and many are
indeed designated as natural monuments. However, it is the repeated
occurrence of boulders, tors, domes, rock pinnacles and rock slopes
that account for the scenic appeal of many landscapes and terrains,
said Migon.
This creates two possible problems for geoconservation. One is
that it might be difficult to select representatives for site
designation, because of different possible criteria of evaluations.
The other is that the preferred designation of larger areas might
be impossible because of inadequate legal regulations in particular
countries, or opposed by local people fearing constraints on
economic development. The geopark initiative appears to be a
welcome solution, said Migon.
After making demonstrations on the formation of granite
landforms and landscapes theoretically, Professor Chen Anze from
the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, said the development of
the country's granite scenic spots should follow the way of
science, instead of the way to seek fairy tales and legends.
He suggests that the geological scientific and research
institutes should conduct systematic surveys on granite landforms
and landscapes. More granite museums should be set up to popularize
scientific knowledge.
Tourism guides should be trained and work with job certificates.
Different tourist routes at a scenic site should be provided for
different groups of people, such as for adults, students and
specialists, said Chen.
During the symposium, domestic and foreign experts toured the
Sanqing Mountain National Park and made on-the-spot inspections.
When entering the scenic spots, they were all amazed by the
stunning and wonderful views. "It's really wonderful. The scenery
here is one of the most spectacular sceneries in the world," said
Eder.
Jointly sponsored by Shangrao City People's Government, Jiangxi
Provincial Land Resources Department, the State Geopark Research
Centre, and the Research Society of Tourist Geosciences and
Geoparks of the China Geological Society, the week-long symposium
was organized by the Administrative Committee of the Sanqin
Mountain National Park. The conference was supported by the Jiangxi
Academy of Geological Surveys and Jiangxi Shangrao Land Resources
Bureau.
(China Daily August 4, 2006)
