Cooperation between UNESCO Global Geopark Cao Bang and UNESCO Global Geopark Lac Nghiep – Phuong Son (China)

At the signing ceremony, the two sides introduced the outstanding values of their local geoparks. Accordingly, the two geoparks share many similarities and are adjacent to each other. The UNESCO Global Geopark Lac Nghiep – Phuong Son is located in the northwest of Guangxi Province, China, covering an area of 1,113 km². It is home to the largest Da Thach Vi Lac Nghiep sky hole cluster in the world, the lush tropical forest of the Bo Lieu River Valley, the homeland of orchids in China and fauna and caves, resources of scientific research significance and high aesthetic value.

The Cao Bang province representatives stated that for many years, the two provinces of Cao Bang (Vietnam) and Bách Sắc (China) have engaged in numerous cooperative exchange activities, including many visits and signing cooperation memorandums between the two provinces regarding tourism, between the Department of Culture, Sports & Tourism of Cao Bang province and the Bureau of Culture and Tourism of Bach Sac City. Currently, the Cao Bang – Tinh Tay tourism route is being developed and is favored by tourists. Previously, in 2022, the People's Government of Bach Sac City and the Department of Foreign Affairs of Cao Bang province held an online meeting to agree on collaboration between the two geoparks, and now, after 4 years, the official signing ceremony has taken place.
At the ceremony, both sides reached an agreement on the contents to be signed for cooperation in various fields such as: enhancing exchanges and collaboration in research on heritage protection; promoting education and dissemination of scientific knowledge, geological research and the application of achievements, and spreading geological knowledge; strengthening personnel exchanges; implementing mutual visits among decision-makers, local tourism sectors, and management officials; enhancing cooperation to promote tourism products; increasing mutual support for media promotion about the geoparks of both parties; and researching the development of tourism routes.

At the end of the discussions, both sides highly agreed on the cooperation contents, expressing the desire that this not only serves as an opportunity to exchange and learn from each other’s experiences in promoting the title between the two geoparks but also opens up cooperative relations, strengthens bonds, and jointly develops the tourism sector between the two localities of Cao Bang province and Guangxi province.