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)