Hong Kong Geopark

Hong Kong World Geopark, China (hereinafter referred to as Hong Kong Geopark) is a Geopark in Hong Kong. It is located in the East and northeast of the new territories, including two parks of sedimentary rocks in the northeast of the new territories and volcanic rocks in the east of Saigon, with a total of eight scenic spots. Covering an area of 49.85 hectares, the park is the smallest Geopark in the world.

Although the area of the park is small, it has world-class acidic volcanic pillars. It also shows the geological history of sedimentary environment formed by sedimentation during the Paleozoic era from 520 million to 250 million years ago, which is very typical and rare. Among them, the volcanic column is acidic rhyolite volcanic rock with high silica content, covering an area of 100 square kilometers (part of the sea area), with an average diameter of 1.2 meters. No matter in terms of scale and rock characteristics, it can be called rare in the world. What's more, the volcanic rock here shows the characteristics of tuff and lava at the same time. Geologists still have different views on how it was formed, which is of great scientific research value Value. In addition, a variety of erosion and sedimentary landforms were formed during the coastal process. The fossils in them provide clues for understanding the Paleozoic environment, geography, climate and biological evolution.

On September 17, 2011, the Hong Kong Geopark was listed in the list of world geoparks by UNESCO [1], becoming the 26th world-class Geopark in China and a rare World Geopark in an international metropolis. Hong Kong Geopark

Opening hours: 9:30 am to 4:30 pm, closed on Tuesdays.

How to get there

Take the following transportation to get off at Beigang bus stop and walk to the Geopark visitor center.

Bus 92 between Diamond Hill MTR station and Sai Kung

*Bus 96r between Diamond Hill MTR station and Yellowstone pier

1A minibus between rainbow MTR station and Sai Kung

*Walking only on holidays

Enquiry Hotline: 2792 2234 (lion society nature education center)

Hong Kong National Geopark

synonym

Hong Kong geoparks generally refer to Hong Kong national geoparks

The Hong Kong National Geopark, covering an area of about 5000 hectares, consists of two major parks: sedimentary rocks in northeast New Territories and volcanic rocks in Eastern Sai Kung. In the preliminary plan, the park is divided into two parks, namely Sai Kung Park and northeast New Territories park. Each park has four scenic spots, namely a total of eight scenic spots.

Development history

The proposal for the establishment of a Geopark in Hong Kong was first published by the Hong Kong geomorphology and rock Conservation Association in conjunction with three mainland geologists. Since 2005, the Hong Kong World Geopark Committee, sponsored by the Association for the advancement of democratic Hong Kong construction and the Maanshan Association for the promotion of people's health, has begun to study the feasibility of establishing a Geopark in Hong Kong, and has begun to make relevant specific planning. After that, they went to Nanjing, Wuhan and other places, visited a number of geological experts and scholars in the mainland, inspected relevant research institutions, and published the proposal for the construction of Hong Kong World Geopark in June 2007, which was also submitted to the government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for consideration. It is suggested that "one center, three scenic spots" should be taken as the initial form of Hong Kong Geopark. "One center" is the concept of Ma'anshan coastal area, including Baishi headland, Ma'anshan Park, Ma'anshan promenade and wuxisha Youth Village; "three scenic spots" are: 1. Ma'anshan mine site; 2. The area from Wanyi reservoir to Guozhou islands; 3. The area from chimen Strait to Dongping island and yinzhoutang in Northeast new territories. In the same year, the Legislative Council moved the establishment of a Geopark, which was approved after discussion.

On October 15, 2008, the then chief executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, announced that he would consider setting up a Geopark to develop special landforms and rock groups into a natural scenic spot for viewing. In December 2008, the Hong Kong geomorphology and rock Conservation Association and the SAR government reached a preliminary consensus to divide the Geopark into two parks with a total of eight scenic spots. Originally, there were ten scenic spots in the park, but after considering the convenience of transportation and routes, Ma Shi Chau and the area composed of Southern Kau Sai Chau and Diao Chung Chau (originally Niu Wei Chau) were removed from the plan. AFCD will first apply to the people's Republic of China for National Geopark status in September 2009, and then apply to UNESCO for World Geopark status in 2010. It is estimated that it will take two years for the world geoparks to reach 138 standards, including development routes and publishing books.

In mid February 2009, the Hong Kong Geopark task force was established and held its first meeting.

According to reports, in September 2009, the Hong Kong Geopark was assessed by the National Geopark Accreditation Committee to meet the requirements of the National Geopark accreditation standards, and was approved by all members, officially becoming a national geopark. The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Donald Tsang, said at the opening ceremony that Hong Kong is rich in geomorphic resources, many of which are of great academic research, tourism and ornamental value. By joining the National Geopark network, Hong Kong can learn more about the protection of precious geological features, enhance the public's understanding of Geosciences, and add new attractions to green tourism activities.

On November 3, 2009, the Hong Kong National Geopark held a grand opening ceremony. The Ministry of land and resources sent a delegation to the celebration. The chief executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Mr Donald Tsang, attended the ceremony and delivered a speech. On behalf of the Ministry of land and resources, Wang Min, Vice Minister of the Ministry of land and resources, presented the plaque of the Hong Kong National Geopark to Qiu Tenghua, director of the environment bureau of the Special Administrative Region, and jointly unveiled the main monument of the Hong Kong National Geopark with Chief Executive Donald Tsang. Officials from UNESCO and representatives of geoparks from Asia, Europe and Oceania attended the event. Wang Min, Vice Minister of land and resources, and Ibrahim Kum, member of the international expert committee of UNESCO World Geopark network, attended the opening ceremony.

The Hong Kong Geopark is the 141st National Geopark. It will add an Italian version, a tourist guide, a Geopark signboard and three geological trails. The whole Geopark is divided into two major scenic spots, each with its own characteristics. The northeast of the new territories shows the characteristics of geological diversity. Litchi village has mountain fire ash, and the red rock of Chizhou is also known as "Danxia landform", which is similar to the landform of Danxia Mountain in the mainland. The landforms in Saigon, such as liangchuanwan and Guozhou islands, have world-class hexagonal pillars, which are very rare.

The government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region will invest resources to manage geoparks and, in accordance with the relevant provisions of UNESCO, apply to the relevant departments through the state for upgrading the Hong Kong Geopark to a World Geopark.

Main attractions

The Hong Kong Geopark, covering an area of about 50 square kilometers, is divided into two zones: sedimentary rocks in northeast New Territories and volcanic rocks in Saigon. The former is located in the area from chimen Strait to Tung Ping Chau in northeast New Territories, while the latter is located in the area from Wan Yi reservoir in Sai Kung to Kwok Chau islands. Four scenic spots are set up in each park. Among them, the scenic spots of Saigon volcanic rock park include qiaozuizhou, liangchuanwan, Guozhou islands and wengtang islands. The four scenic spots show the volcanic rocks, intrusive rocks and rare acidic hexagonal pillars produced by the last volcanic eruption 140 million years ago in Hong Kong. The hexagonal pillars, with an average diameter of 1.2 meters and a height of more than 100 meters, form a unique natural scene.

Saigon Park Saigon park is characterized by hexagonal rock pillar group and coastal erosion landform. These hexagonal rock pillars are the largest in area and volume in the world. The accumulation type is tuff, which is composed of acid volcanic ash. The rock column is bulky with an average diameter of 1.2m. In contrast, the hexagonal rock pillar of giant Causeway, a famous world heritage site in Northern Ireland, has a diameter of only 0.5 meters. Yanzhu group covers an area of 150 square kilometers from Dongba of Wanyi reservoir in the north to Guozhou islands in the West. Most of the pillars are located on the seafloor, but it is estimated that there are about 200000 exposed to the coast. The four scenic spots of Saigon park are liangchuanwan, qiaozui Island, Guozhou islands and the area composed of Hengzhou, huoshizhou and shatangkou mountain.

Northeast New Territories Park

The northeast New Territories park is characterized by a variety of geological landforms and high geological diversity. The four scenic spots in the northeast New Territories park are Tung Ping Chau, Yin Chau Tong, Chi men and Chi Chau.

Purpose of establishment

Most of the Hong Kong Geopark project is covered by existing country and marine parks. The islands not covered are mainly in the southeast, including Hengzhou, huoshizhou, shatangkou mountain and Guozhou islands. The agriculture, fisheries and Conservation Department will list these areas as special areas for protection. In his policy address on October 14, 2009, the chief executive, Donald Tsang, pointed out that the Ministry of land and resources of China had approved the Hong Kong Geopark to become a national geopark. The park then opened on November 3, 2009.

Because the purpose of setting up geoparks is to educate the general public and improve their understanding of geology, the scenic spots are located in relatively easy to reach places. The Geopark is not another theme park, so there will be no large-scale construction. However, the existing visitor centre at North Tam Chung will be renovated in early 2010 to introduce the history of the volcanoes in Sai Kung and the hexagonal pillars in the area. The tourist centre at Jiaokeng will also be expanded in early 2010 to introduce the Hong Kong Geopark.

Address: East and northeast New Territories, Hong Kong

Longitude: 114.380398193

Latitude: 22.3836

Chinese PinYin : Xiang Gang Di Zhi Gong Yuan