Dunhuang UNESCO Global Geopark actively participates in the 2022 UNESCO Global Geopark Annual Meeting

On December 7, the 2022 annual meeting of China UNESCO Global Geopark, which was guided by the Department of Nature Conservation Sites of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Forestry Bureau of Hunan Province and the People's Government of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, and co-organized by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, the National Geopark Network Center, the National Geopark Network Office and the Xiangxi UNESCO Global Geopark, opened in Xiangxi Prefecture, and for the first time, the annual meeting was held in the online + offline format, Dunhuang UNESCO Global Geopark and 40 Chinese UNESCO Global Geoparks and 7 UNESCO Global Geopark candidate sites gathered online to talk about the event, share experiences and seek sustainable development of the UNESCO Global Geopark.

At the meeting, Yuan Xiaohong, second-level inspector of the Department of Nature Reserve Management of the State Forestry and Grassland Administration, Wang Min, deputy director of the Geological Remains Research Office of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, delivered an online speech on behalf of Ma Yan, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, and Jin Xiaochi, vice chairman of the Executive Board of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network. Zhang Jianping, a professor of China University of Geosciences and a member of the Executive Board of the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network, and Zhang Zhiguang, a senior engineer of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences and an expert in the evaluation of UNESCO Global Geoparks, made a keynote report online. Nine UNESCO Global Geoparks, including Hunan Xiangxi, Zhejiang Yandangshan, Guangdong Danxiashan, Yunnan Shilin, Shandong Yimengshan, Shaanxi Qinling Zhongnanshan, and Gansu Zhangye, shared their experiences in UNESCO Global Geopark construction and management.

The event built a good online platform for cooperation and exchange for the UNESCO Global Geoparks and promoted the sustainable development of China's UNESCO Global Geoparks and geotourism. Through this annual meeting, Dunhuang UNESCO Global Geopark studied online the key points of UNESCO Global Geopark assessment and re-assessment by experts of UNESCO Global Geopark, understood the situation of declaration and assessment of UNESCO Global Geopark in recent years, and learned the advanced management and construction experience shared by each geopark, which enriched the ideas for the next assessment work and the construction management and brand creation of the geopark.