Ha Giang (VNA) – The northern province ofHa Giang held a ceremony on November 28 night to celebrate the 10th anniversary of UNESCO’s recognition of the Dong Van Karst Plateau as a globalgeopark and kick off the sixth buckwheat flower festival.  

According to UNESCO, most of the Dong Van KarstPlateau’s surface is limestone (about 60 percent). Its landscape is spectacularand unique having high mountains and deep canyons. The highest peak is Mieu VacMount (1971m) while Tu San is the deepest canyon (700-800 m deep).

The geopark is located at an extension foot mount Eastof the Himalayas. Geoheritages date from the Cambrian (about 550 million yearsago) to the present in seven different stages and include palaeobiology,stratigraphy, geomophology, tectonics, karst, caves and also important faults.The geology in this UNESCO Global Geopark reflects important events in the Earth's history.

The geopark has two natural conservation areas rich infauna and flora species such as conifers, Asian black bear, Southern serow (asolitary mountain goat) and many species of bird. Moreover, the unusual andmysterious Tonkin snub-nosed monkey is one of the 25 most endangered species ofprimate in the world. It is only found in Ha Giang province and was believedextinct until its rediscovery in the early 1990s.

It is home to 17 ethnic groups which creates theunique and rich cultural heritage of this area.

UNESCO’s recognition has created new opportunitiesfor socio-economic development in Ha Giang and four districts in the karstplateau area in particular.

Meanwhile, the buckwheat flower festival has beenregarded as a highlight for years to promote local culture, said Nguyen VanSon, Chairman of the provincial People’s Committee.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Vice Chairman of theNational Assembly Uong Chu Luu lauded efforts of Ha Giang’s Party organisation, administration and people to overcome difficulties to bring the locality forward.

He urged the province to optimise its advantages intourism and high-quality agriculture, step up regional connectivity, and striveto turn the geopark into a national tourist site.

Over the past years, Ha Giang has become an attractivedestination for both domestic and foreign holiday-makers whose number increased14 percent each year during the 2010-2015 period, and 14.6 percent between 2015and 2020, contributing 8.8 percent to the local gross domestic product (GDP)./.