UNESCO Global Geopark Official Certification
Three Quarters of Baekdusan Located in Chinese Territory
Baekdusan was registered as a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Global Geopark under its Chinese name, "Changbaishan." Some parts of Baekdusan, located between the China-North Korea border, belong to Chinese territory.
On the 28th, UNESCO's official website announced that it had certified 18 candidate sites, including Changbaishan, as Global Geoparks the previous day. The newly certified parks had already been recommended for registration at the board meeting in September last year.
Baekdusan, officially certified as a UNESCO Global Geopark. However, the name used is the Chinese name, Changbaishan. [Image source=UNESCO]
Changbaishan is the Chinese name for Baekdusan. UNESCO described it as "an outdoor classroom of volcanic activity located in southeastern Jilin Province," adding, "Changbaishan is one of the best-preserved complex volcanoes over the past several million years, allowing the study of volcanic formation processes." It further introduced, "The Heaven Lake at the summit is the largest and highest volcanic lake in Northeast Asia, offering breathtaking scenery."
China requested UNESCO certification for Changbaishan four years ago. Currently, one-quarter of Baekdusan is North Korean territory, while three-quarters belong to China. However, about 54.5% of Heaven Lake lies within North Korean territory.
Global Geoparks are designated to protect geological landscapes of value and to promote sustainable development. While China’s registration of the Baekdusan area under its own name, Changbaishan, is not problematic, some concerns have been raised that this may lead to the Chinese name Changbaishan becoming more widely known than Baekdusan.
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