International honor: Yandangshan UNESCO Global Geopark wins the Best Practice Award 2025. [Photo/tidenews.com.cn]
The Yandangshan UNESCO Global Geopark in Wenzhou city — located in East China's Zhejiang province — received the Best Practice Award 2025 at the 11th UNESCO Global Geoparks Network held in Temuco city in Chile on Sept 10.
As a result, the geopark became the first of its kind in the province to win the honor.
The award, granted every two years, recognizes innovative sustainable practices that can serve as models for the world's 229 UNESCO Global Geoparks. Only five parks were selected this year.
Experts praised Yandang Mountain's management model, which integrates geological heritage protection with community development, cultural preservation and science education.
Established as a UNESCO Global Geopark in 2005, Yandang Mountain is the world's first geopark themed on Mesozoic volcanic landforms. Its recent expansion, also approved at the conference, increases its area by over 50 percent to 462.8 square kilometers, adding new geological and cultural sites.
An extraordinary cliffside cafe at Yandang Mountain is always popular with mountain trekkers and coffee lovers. [Photo/WeChat account: gh_e62849e913f0]
