Danxia landforms and tourism development in Shicheng National Geopark, Jiangxi Province

The Shicheng National Geopark is located in Ganzhou City of Jiangxi Province, with Danxia landscapes as the main tourism resources and distinguished by polygonal cracks on red sandstone outcrops. A variety of iconic landforms are formed by spatial arrangement of polygonal cracks, among which the Guishou(giant turtle-like)stone and Xianrenlitian(large regular cracking)scenery sites are the most fascinating. The types and features of Danxia landscapes are summarized through field geological survey in the geopark. The results show that the Danxia landscapes are mainly formed by the combination of tectonic uplift, fault incision, lithology, fluvial erosion and weathering of the terrestrial Late Cretaceous red beds. The peculiar polygonal cracks are mainly produced by weathering. In recent years, the geopark has made significant progress in tourism development, but remains at the level of sightseeing tour. Under the background of national call for science popularization education and learning trips, it is necessary for the geopark to conduct close communication and cooperation with the Danxiashan of Guangdong, Taining of Fujian, and Longhushan of Jiangxi Provinces to learn successful experiences. Meanwhile, it is suggested the investment on scientific research should be increased to provide basic research data for improving the quality of learning trips.