1. What is a Geopark?

Geopark is characterized by its special geological scientific significance, rare natural attribute and high quality.

Aesthetic ornamental value, with a certain scale and distribution of geological heritage landscape as the main body, and the integration of other natural and cultural landscapes constitute a unique natural area. It not only provides people with places of sightseeing, vacation and leisure, health care and recreation, cultural entertainment with high scientific taste, but also is the key protection area of geological heritage landscape and ecological environment, and the base of geological scientific research and popularization.

2. What is the World Geopark?

The geological park approved by UNESCO is called the World Geopark, which is visited by UNESCO experts on the spot and approved by the expert group. In 2004, with the support of UNESCO, the first World Geopark Congress was held in Beijing. Eight Chinese National Geoparks and 17 European Geoparks jointly initiated the establishment of the World Geopark Network. Up to now, there are 127 UNESCO World Geoparks and 35 in China.

3. What are geological relics?

Geological relics refer to the geological processes of internal and external forces during the long geological history of the earth's evolution.

The precious and non-renewable geological and natural heritage formed, developed and left behind. It includes natural relics such as scenic spots and natural scenery in tourism, human interaction with geological bodies, human exploitation and utilization of geological environment, relics of geological resources and relics of geological hazards in the process of human formation in recent geological history.

4. Geological characteristics of Macheng Park

Macheng has abundant geological relics. There are 17 sites in total. The representative and typical sites are the Neoarchean basic-ultrabasic-lower crustal rock assemblage of the Muzidian Formation 2.8 billion years ago, the Sanhewan ductile shear zone (Taolin River), the Lujiahe ductile shear zone of the Fuzihe River, and the geological and geomorphological features. Landscapes include the tortoise peak sunrise, Cretaceous red bed profile, Jiulong Mountain, Wanger Stone, Xianrenjiao, Tiansuo Stone, Jianshi, etc. It is worth mentioning that Muzidian Neoarchaean Continental Core, with a history of 2.8 billion years, is the oldest rock in the Dabie Mountains. The root of the Dabie Mountains is mainly composed of eclogite and pyroxene.

Macheng Guifeng Mountain Park is an important part of Dabie Mountain Geopark. The main peak of Guifeng Mountain is 1320 meters above sea level. Its turtle head is 300 meters vertical. It covers nine hills from turtle head to turtle tail. The total length is 25 kilometers. On the top of Guifeng Mountain, there is an ancient azalea sea growing naturally in succession, covering an area of 100,000 mu. Its beautiful color, can be called the world's first, has been selected in the world Guinness Records.