A RUI:South China Historical Trail has become a tourist hot spot during the National Day Golden Week. How to build Nanling Nature Reserve into a national park according to national standards has been listed on the agenda. The first batch of national parks will be set up in China in 2020. In the United States, national trails are often associated with national parks. Which comes first?

The American Grand Canyon National Park

A XIANG:The world's first national park, Yellowstone National Park, was established in 1872 under a conservation statute signed by U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant. The National Trail System was created by the National Trail Act of 1968, which created trails to promote public enjoyment and appreciation of the nation's outdoor and historic resources.

A RUI:Although Yellowstone, Grand Canyon and Rock Creek in the United States were established in the second half of the 19th century, the establishment of the National Park Service originated in Canada. Since the establishment of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN.) in the last century, the criteria for national parks have been constantly changing, such as an area of not less than 1,000 hectares. What's the latest standard？

A XIANG:The current IUCN criteria for a national park are: a large natural or near-natural area reserved for large-scale ecological processes, as well as species composition and regional ecosystem characteristics, while providing a basis for environmental cultural compatibility with spiritual, scientific, educational, recreational and tourism opportunities.

A RUI:Founded in 1948 and joined by China in the early 1990s, the IUCN now has 10 members in Asia. For the past 20 years, China has shared the goals of the organization in terms of nature conservation, education and tourism. The revitalization and utilization of South China Historical Trail is a concrete practice of the "spirit of environmental and cultural compatibility" you mentioned, which is to create new vitality for science, education, leisure and tourism. Nanling in today's Guangdong Province has two precious gifts bestowed by nature and left by our ancestors: the national nature reserve with an elevation of over 1,000 meters and the ancient paths and post roads with hundreds of kilometers. The combination of the two is the symbol of Lingnan's human geography. Unfortunately, due to deforestation in the 16th century, the living conditions of the South China tiger deteriorated and even disappeared. Otherwise, there might have been a third precious gift: the South China tiger!

A XIANG:Guangdong should actively absorb the development concept of national parks, and form a multi-level system of points, lines and surfaces through the development of protection and development modes such as post roads and parks. This can start with a very basic sign system, such as the one in Yellowstone National Park that describes in great detail the ecosystem embedded in the local landscape.

The picture shows A sign in the Sand Arboretum, Phoenix, Arizona

A notebook of the desert botanical garden for visitor record of the wildlife

A RUI:I visited the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, Arizona, which has the largest variety of desert plants in the world. As you said, the information board serves as a popular science and even provides a record book for visitors to observe changes in the wild environment. The accessibility of national parks is the concept of serving people, which is divided into two levels: the accessibility to the periphery of national parks from far away, and the accessibility to the viewing points of the highest scenic value through the organization of trails within the protected areas of national parks. The Grand Canyon National Park in the United States has nearly half a million square kilometers of trails designed and built for visitors to climb.

The picture shows The sign board of the Grand Canyon Tour Trail

A XIANG:The accessibility design of the trails reflects the core concept of the national park, protecting the ecology of the area while providing a platform for the public to appreciate the natural resources. Accessibility is two-sided. On the one hand, visitors can easily go deep into the natural landscape. On the other hand, the movement path of tourists should be regulated to reduce unnecessary interference to the reserve.

The Wupatiki National Memorial Area Park Scenic Area, road and speed limit signs, information boards

The Grand Canyon National Park

Walk trails in the park

A RUI:National parks are places for people to experience nature. They also provide restricted areas for education and tourism. I have studied the management rules of Rock Creek National Park in Washington, USA. Which clearly stipulate that the number of picnics should not exceed 75 people, the time of road closure should be set clearly, badminton can be played in the designated picnic place, but the net should not be hung on the tree, and so on. These daily problems are regulated in advance.

A XIANG:The National Park Administration has a complete management system, which can effectively regulate the repair of local roads, buildings and camping areas by issuing concept plans for the development of protected areas and environmental assessments. The National Park Service as an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior, has managed the national parks since 1916. With the help of volunteers and partner agencies, the National Park Service protects these special areas and shares local information with nearly 270 million visitors each year.

A RUI:I still have a leaflet from a visit to the Sunset Crater Volcano and Wupatiki National Monumemnt reserves in 2002, which included a ban on the movement and collection of rocks within the protected areas, as well as fines. This is instructive to the protection of scenic spots, heritage parks and ancient post roads in China, and it is worth learning how to legislate when China implements national park system in the future. In addition, I would like to discuss with you the relationship between national parks, national monuments and contribution buildings.

The Sunset Crater Volcano fine notice

A XIANG:The main difference between national parks and national monuments in the United States is that they are protected for different reasons: conservation in national parks is based on landscape, inspirational, educational, and recreational values. National monuments protect objects of historical, cultural and scientific value and can be very varied. National monuments, for example, can protect wild areas, fossil sites, military strongholds, ruins and buildings. National parks are decided by parliamentary votes and national monuments by presidential proclamation. As a result, the president can quickly create a protected area without having to consult Congress.

A RUI:This aspect can be used as a reference for the protection of South China Historical Trail and the historic buildings and structures along the trails, and for the establishment of the historical post road and cultural landscape in Nanling National Park. South China Historical Trail is built by thousands of ancient megaliths. It is imperative to avoid being removed or destroyed.

A XIANG:Buildings located in historic districts are classified into two types of property: contributing and non-contributing. A contributing property, such as an 18th-century house, helps to keep the historic district historic, while a non-contributing property, such as a modern clinic, does not enhance the district's history. Under the law on historic areas in the United States, a contributing building is any building, object, or structure that adds to the historical integrity or architectural quality of a historic district. By 1998, more than 2,300 small American towns and cities and villages had enacted historic preservation ordinances.

A RUI:The above photos have been on my computer for 15 years. They were taken when I visited some national parks and national monuments in the United States. I was impressed by the design and guidance of the steps, the richness of the information boards and the scientific rigor of the tourist attractions.

A XIANG:Rock Creek National Park in Washington, USA, also has a detailed guidance system, and signs provide visitors with brochures explaining the local ecological knowledge. The park distributary design layout is reasonable, through the motor vehicle path, the sidewalk, the stream separation, effectively enhancing the safety of tourists.

Different levels of road diversion traffic in Rock Creek Park

A sign in Rock Creek Park

Pictured is A sign inside Rock Creek Park, upper right: the National Park Service logo

A RUI:Thank you for the information. According to the current work plan, Nanling in Guangdong can be built into a national park by 2020 using IUCN standards for reference. We hope that the above information will be helpful to our future activation and utilization of South China Historical Trail and the construction and protection of "Nanling National Park". Now that the birds are chirping outside, I should go to work, too. National Day Golden Week has come to an end, and I have asked the staff of relevant functional departments to connect with Guangdong's humanities and history by combining their majors. I believe they will do great work during the eight-day holiday. We will continue the dialogue over time difference after studying these articles.