On November 20th, 2024, Zhao Xiaomei, the secretary of the Party Committee and the director of Shilin Geopark Administration, represented Shilin UGGp to sign a “Sister Park Agreement” with Li Boxuan, the director of Department of Natural Resources and Planning in Zigong. Then we built a friendly relationship and became the sister parks officially.

We held a symposium, in which we both discussed in depth about how could we scientifically take advantage of our geological heritage sites and the label of IUGS geological heritage sites. We also shared and exchanged experiences of the development of geotourism.

During their visit, we conducted a joint field excursion with the delegation of Zigong UGGp to explore Major and Minor stone forests, Shilin UGGp Museum and so on. We had in-depth exchanges with those representatives about the construction and management of Global Geoparks, science building and the sustainable development of communities.  

The establishment of sister parks aimed to draw on each other's experience in the field of protection and management of UGGps and promote the future development of our geoparks. Furthermore, we both formed the solid foundation for long-term cooperation and exchanges in the field of management, science popularization, marketing strategies, cultivation of staff members, etc. We will cooperate with each other in the future to commit to the building and development of UGGps in China.