HÀ NỘI — UNESCO will officially hand over a certificate recognising Non Nước Cao Bằng Geopark as a global geopark during a ceremony on November 24 in the northern border province of Cao Bằng.

The ceremony will be broadcast live on Việt Nam Television’s VTV1 channel. The Cao Bằng Provincial Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will designate the historical relic site on Border Victory in 1950 in Thạch An District as a special national site.

Thạch An District marks an important period in the national resistance and revolutionary career of Hồ Chí Minh and Võ Nguyên Giáp.

The ceremony will be followed by an art performance featuring the diversified culture of local ethnic groups such as the Tày, Nùng, Dao, Sán Chỉ, Kinh, Lô Lô and Mông peoples.

The Cao Bằng People’s Committee will host a series of activities from November 23 to 27 to promote the province.

An investment, trade and tourism conference will take place in Cao Bằng City with the participation of nearly 400 delegates.

Other activities will include an exhibition featuring the history, culture and landscape of the province, a performance of folk culture, a fashion show of traditional costumes of local ethnic groups, a sport tournament between representatives of six northern mountainous regions and a fair of local specialities and tourism products.

The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will launch three tourism routes in the geopark to attract more tourists, said Sầm Việt An, director of the department.

“We expect that through the events, we can lure more domestic and international tourists to Cao Bằng,” he said. “We are determined to promote tourism in order to develop the provincial economy.”

Non Nước Cao Bằng is about 300 kilometres from Hà Nội. Covering over 3,000 sq.km, the geopark is home to fossils, ocean sediment, volcanic rocks, minerals and karst landscapes, which can give researchers insight into the 500 million years of the earth’s history.

The park is well known for its rich biodiversity and many indigenous species of fauna and flora.

The site includes famous destinations such as Thang Hen Lake, Phia Oắc ecological site and Ngườm Ngao Cave.

The geopark was first established in 2015. In November 2016, the province People’s Committee submitted a dossier to UNESCO to seek the global geopark classification. A UNESCO survey team came to the province in July 2017 to assess the park’s values and conservation work.

"Non Nước Cao Bằng UNESCO Global Geopark offers numerous outstanding historical and archaeological sites and a rich cultural heritage of national and international significance, lending the area prominence in Việt Nam and providing a strong basis for the tourism industry as it attracts large numbers of domestic and international visitors,” read the UNESCO statement. “In addition, numerous international and national geosites such as fossil sites, geological boundaries, mineral deposits and intrusive, volcanic and sedimentary rocks are well preserved."

This is the second UNESCO-recognised global geopark in Việt Nam after Đồng Văn Karst Plateau in the northern province of Hà Giang, which received the honour in 2010. — VNS