April 22, 2024 is the 55th World Earth Day, and the theme of this year's Earth Day is "Planet vs. Plastics". In order to thoroughly study and implement the spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, publicize Xi Jinping Thought on Ecological Civilization, guide the whole society to establish the concept of ecological civilization of "respecting nature, conforming to nature, and protecting nature", promote the construction of beautiful Qianshan, and jointly build an earth home where man and nature coexist in harmony, Tianzhushan Global Geopark, Anqing Qianshan Ecological Environment Branch and Qianshan Pailou Central Primary School jointly carried out the 55th "World Earth Day" and the 5th Asia-Pacific Geopark Week Science Popularization Campaign. In the form of museum-school cooperation and joint construction and common benefit, Tianzhushan Geopark will give full play to the social education function of the museum and jointly build a "second classroom" for popular science education.
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On September 19
and 23, 2025, UNESCO experts conducted two separate inspections of Tianzhushan
UNESCO Global Geopark. The inspections, centered on the theme of "Focusing
on Community Development and Geo-culture to Explore New Pathways for
Sustainable Development of Geoparks," aimed to gain a comprehensive
understanding of the geopark’s achievements in geological heritage
conservation, community involvement and cultural preservation.
The expert team
included Dr. António Abreu, Director of the UNESCO Division of Ecological and
Earth Sciences and Secretary of the Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme,
along with Professor Cristina Abreu, an environmental expert from the
Polytechnic Institute of Leiria, Portugal, both arrived at Tianzhushan Geopark
on Sep. 19. Mr. Kristof Vandenberghe, Chief of UNESCO Earth Sciences and
Geoparks Section and Secretary of the International Geoscience and Geoparks
Programme (IGGP), arrived at Tianzhushan Geopark on Sep. 23. They were
accompanied throughout the inspection by Mr. He Qingcheng, Executive Deputy
Director of China National Geoparks Network Center and Director of the Global
Geoparks Network Office, and Ms. Ren Fang, Director of the Office of Chna National
Geoparks Network Center and Director of the Geological Heritage Department of
the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences.
During the
inspections, the UNESCO experts conducted field visits to key sites such as the
Tianzhushan granite landform area, Qiuzhi Geocultural Village, the Tianzhushan
Geopark Museum, and the national intangible cultural heritage site of
"Doumu Ancient Pottery." At the main peak scenic area of Tianzhushan,
the experts showed great interest in the world-renowned "Tianzhushan-type"
granite collapsed and piled-up landform. At Qiuzhi Geocultural Village, they
gained detailed insights into how the village integrates world-class fossil
sites and ultra-high-pressure metamorphic rock resources with community
development and scientific research, creating a model of synergistic
development combining "geology + culture + ecology."
At the discussion
meeting following the field inspection, the geopark management team
comprehensively reported on its recent work progress. Both sides engaged in
in-depth discussions on key issues such as sustainable management of geoparks
and optimization of revalidation mechanisms. The experts highly recognized
China’s important role in the global geoparks network, particularly noting that
China’s 49 UNESCO Global Geoparks have not only contributed significantly to
the global efforts in geological heritage conservation, scientific research,
public outreach, and community engagement but have also developed a unique
management model of "government leadership + community co-construction."
They emphasized that Tianzhushan UNESCO Global Geopark is an outstanding
example of this model, and its practices in promoting local sustainable
development through geotourism, fostering cultural heritage, and enhancing
community integration hold significant international reference value.
