Wulingyuan National Park - considered the best park in Chin
When it comes to national parks, that old adage "imitation is the sincerest form of flattery" certainly applies to the US National Park Service.
While many Asian and European countries are much older than the United States, this country is recognized as starting the first established national park in the world. Now there is a plan for China to copy US parks.
China has reportedly teamed up with The Paulson Institute in Chicago to create a similar national park system there and they are looking to emulate the successful American model that provides all of us with a fantastic array of fascinating and protected parks.
"In the United States our national parks are an important source of shared national pride and cultural identity, as well as treasured natural resources for the public to enjoy," Paulson Institute Chairman Henry M. Paulson Jr., said at the signing ceremony.
"We are honored and delighted to be working with China to help develop a comprehensive and effective system of protected areas by adding national parks into the system."
The entire program in the US started in 1872 with the creation of Yellowstone National Park, the first national park in the world. And with its geysers, waterfalls and wildlife, it remains one the crown jewels in the system.
(However, it was Canada that is credited with creating the first national park service in 1911.)
Since then, the NPS in America has grown to manage 84,000,000 acres of land, 4,502,644 acres of oceans, lakes and reservoirs, 85,049 miles of rivers and streams and 68,561 archaeological sites.
The National Park Service doesn't just manage park land. They oversee 121,603,193 items in museums and 27,000 historic structures.
Conversely, China has just two national parks - the Pudacuo National Park designated in 2006 and the Tangwanghe National Park, established in 2009.
Officials in China claim they have set aside 18% of their land for parks or preserved sites, which is an enormous amount, but apparently there is very little management or coordinated oversight of these properties.
As their middle class grows, more and more Chinese now own cars. And since they own cars, more and more of them want to go on road trips. A national park system gives them a place to visit, a place that is maintained and protected, just like parks in America.
China does have some spectacular scenery.
Here are a few of their top national parks (see the link below for photos).
- Wulingyuan National Park - this park contains some incredible geological formations called "Zhangiajie's Precipitous Pillars." The floating rocks there were reportedly the inspiration for the movie Avatar.
- Jiuzhaigou National Park - this park is known for it's incredible multicolor lakes and is truly a unique place in the world.
- Guilin Li River National Park in Guangxi - this park has a river that runs through it with fascinating sheer "karst" hills. Again, very unique to the world.
- Lijiang Yulong Xueshan National Park - the 40 kilometer long Tiger Leaping Gorge is the big attraction here along with Yulong Xueshan - the "Jade Dragon Snow Mountain" that is 18,360 feet high.
- Huangshan National Park - the Yellow Mountain has some bizarre and fascinating "geomorphology" to climb, photograph and enjoy.
- Yunan Shilin National Park - Yunnan's Stone Forest is full of stony projections, caves and lakes.
- Hong Kong - you might think this is just one massive city of skyscrapers but there are actually 30 parks with plenty of hiking and spectacular views.
- Mountains - there are plenty of mountains in China - Mount Emei, Mount Hua, Mount Tai, Mount Putuo and the Danxia Moutains in Guangdong.
We look forward to watching the plan for China to copy US parks. If their version is anything like ours, it will be spectacular.
Here's something for your park trivia buffs: While China may have designated more land than any other country for parks, the largest actual park in the world is The Northeast Greenland National Park created in 1974.
For more photos and information on China national parks visit ChinaHighlights.com.
Read an article on the plan for China to copy US parks here.