The Xingwen Geopark in southwest China's Sichuan Province is expected to be included on the second geoparks list of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), a local governmental official said.

Sources from Sichuan's Xingwen County government, where the park is located, said that a group of domestic and UNESCO geologists have just concluded field inspection. They spoke highly of the local government's efforts in protecting the geological relics.

Currently, the Xingwen park has passed the examination and been listed as one of China's four candidates for UNESCO's second geoparks list.

The final appraisal for whether the Xingwen park will be on the UNESCO list will be made at the second international conference on geoparks to be held in Paris in February 2005, according to the Xingwen county government.

The Xingwen park is reported to have well-preserved carbonate stratum ranging in ages from 250 million years to 490 million years. The variform stone forests, water-eroded caves and hollows on land surface have made the park an encyclopedia of geology.

After the park was listed as one of China's state geopark in January this year, the local government started the UNESCO application.

China hosted the first international conference on geoparks in June this year, in which the UNESCO announced the first 25 UNESCO-identified world geoparks. Eight are located in China: Huangshan Mountains in Anhui Province, Lushan Mountains in Jiangxi Province, Yuntaishan Mountains in Henan Province, Stone Forest in Yunnan Province, Danxiashan Mountain in Guangdong Province, Zhangjiajie Nature Reserve in Hunan Province, Wudalianchi, five volcanic lakes in Heilongjiang Province, and Songshan Mountains in Henan Province.

(Xinhua News Agency December 13, 2004)