China Danxia named to World Heritage List

FUZHOU, China – The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia on August 1, 2010 resulted in “China Danxia” being named to the World Heritage List.

FUZHOU, China – The World Heritage Committee meeting in Brasilia on August 1, 2010 resulted in “China Danxia” being named to the World Heritage List. Taining, together with five other areas in the southern part of China, was inscribed as a new natural site that includes three scenic areas within the Great Golden Lake, including Golden Lake, Shangqing River, and Zhuangyuan Rock.

China Danxia is the name given in China to landscapes developed on continental red terrigenous sedimentary beds formed by endogenous forces (including uplift) and exogenous forces (including weather and erosion). The inscribed site comprises six areas found in the sub-tropical zone of southwest China. They are characterized by spectacular red cliffs and a range of erosional landforms, including dramatic natural pillars, towers, ravines, valleys, and waterfalls. These rugged landscapes have helped to conserve sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forests and host many species of flora and fauna, about 400 of which are considered rare or threatened.

For more information, please visit the official website of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (“UNESCO”) at http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1335/ or http://whc.unesco.org/en/news/645 .

The Great Golden Lake was recognized as a Global Geopark by the UNESCO in February 2005. It is located in Taining, surrounding to Sanming, Nanping of Fujian Province and Nanchang of Jiangxi Province. This world-class tourist attraction covers more than 230 square kilometers and includes five main scenic areas: (1) Golden Lake, (2) Shangqing River, (3) Zhuangyuan Rock, (4) Luohan Mountain, and (5) Taining Old Town. In 2001, China Yida gained the management rights of the Great Golden Lake for 31 years and invested $30 million to improve the infrastructure. Through a well-designed marketing campaign, the company has succeeded in increasing the number of visitors from 30,000 in 2001 to 640,000 in 2009.

“We feel honored that Taining’s China Danxia landform was inscribed onto the World Natural Heritage List. We will continue to make every effort to protect the scenery within the Great Golden Lake to enable tourists from all over the world to enjoy the beauty of our natural heritage,” commented Dr. Minhua Chen, China Yida’s chairman and chief executive officer. The Great Golden Lake is China Yida’s flagship tourist destination.

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Linda Hohnholz

Editor in chief for eTurboNews based in the eTN HQ.

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