Briefly

SHAANXI

National park project receives approval

A plan to transform the core area of the Qinling Mountains, deemed a natural boundary between China's north and south, into a national park has been approved by the country's national park authorities. The planned national park, slated to be completed by 2025, will cover the core ecological area of the mountain ecosystem, according to the forestry authority in Shaanxi province. The Qinling Mountains are known as China's gene bank of wild biology as they house a huge variety of plants and wild animals. Dang Shuangren, director of the Shaanxi forestry and grassland bureau, said that the establishment of the national park is of great significance for biodiversity protection. China's national park administration is expected to establish a coordination and promotion mechanism with the Shaanxi provincial government in the preparatory work to build the national park.

YUNNAN

Glacier monitoring system launched

A real-time glacier monitoring system has been officially put into use on a glacier in the Yulong Snow Mountain in Southwest China's Yunnan province, according to the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The system, jointly developed by the Northwest Institute of Eco-Environment and Resources of the CAS and the Wuhan University Chinese Antarctic Center of Surveying and Mapping, is composed of modules that use the Global Navigation Satellite System, laser diastimeters, cameras, meteorology equipment, ice temperature testing equipment and seismographs. Observation data is transmitted via the 4G network and released online. Since July, the system has obtained information on glacial melting and accumulation, glacial velocity, ice quakes and temperature, humidity and air pressure. The system's monitoring data is updated online every five minutes.

Xinhua