China's new geopark wins global recognition as it makes UN list

Where dinosaurs once roamed and ancient landscapes whisper stories from hundreds of millions of years ago, the Yunyang Geopark in southwestern China is a monument to the prehistoric past.

Its most famous feature — the Great Wall of Dinosaur Fossils — is an 18 km stretch of rock layers packed with fossils dating back nearly 170 million years that draws visitors into a world shaped by time, tectonics, and towering creatures.

Now, this remarkable park has earned international recognition. On April 17, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization officially announced that Yunyang has been added to the UNESCO Global Geoparks Network — a major milestone in China's ongoing efforts to preserve its geological heritage and promote geotourism.