UNESCO warned China to decognized its three geoparks

Beijing: UNESCO has warned three Chinese geoparks that they faced the prospect of being derecognized from the list of Global Geoparks if they fail to improve services.

Mount Lushan Geopark in Jiangxi Province, Wudalianchi Geopark in Heilongjiang Province and the iconic Zhangjiajie Geopark in Hunan Province received warnings on January 9 for failing to offer visitors appropriate geographical information, state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

Zhang Jianguo, director of the Zhangjiajie Geopark’s land and resources office said that the local government would improve the facilities by launching a geology museum.

“If they want to stay on the list, Zhangjiajie and other geoparks should think about more than just making money,” Fang Shiming, a professor of Wuhan-based China University  of Geosciences said.

China has about 45 locations including the Great Wall of China in the UNESCO heritage list.