With the meeting of Yu Changyong, director of Danxiashan Chinese Geopark and Jock Whitworth, superintendent of Zion National Park, Zion’s first sisterhood was formed to create cultural exchanges.
Last spring Zion Whitworth traveled to Danxiashan and was asked to consider a sisterhood agreement. Vice President for Government Relations and Regional service Wes Curtis was asked to travel with him.
“When (Danxiashan staff) heard about the relationship that Zion has with SUU they were very interested,” Curtis said. “We really don’t know where this might lead but it certainly has a lot of potential for us.”
Curtis said global and international experiences is one of the goals that SUU Provost Brad Cook has for the school.
This agreement has a lot of potential to develop the student experiences in this regard.
The Intergovernmental Internship cooperative, a program that SUU established, can offer paid intern positions in various disciplines within Zion park organizations.
“We could see internships in the future in China and other countries,” Curtis said.
This is all possible because of the Alliance for Education made with Zion 18 months ago.
SUU has an Alliance for Education agreement with Bryce Canyon as well, Curtis said.
The Alliance for Education is an effort between the two entities to protect park resources and educate students about the park’s resources. It provides excellent educational and experience opportunities for SUU students, according to SUU in View.
The sister agreement with Danxiashan Park will also allow staff exchanges between the two parks.
“We will be sending Zion staff to Danxiashan with expertise in cultural and natural resource management to exchange expertise and study their processes,” Whitworth said. “Their staff will travel to Zion to exchange expertise and study our processes, too.”
The staff at Zion and Danxiashan will learn from the geology of their respective parks.
“It is exciting,” Zion Park Ranger Adrienne Fitzgerald said. “I just think it is neat to learn about all the other awesome scenery that exist in other places.”
“If given the opportunity to go to Danxiashan,” Fitzgerald said, “I would love to check out their geology.”
She said the two parks are very similar and that is why the Chinese park director originally approached them. “They are looking for parks with similar geology.”
Curtis said the staff at Danxiashan would ultimately like to have world park designations.
There are differences and similarities between the parks.
“Zion’s cliffs are taller, older, and less eroded than Danxiashan’s,” Whitworth said. “They were very impressed with the beauty and grandeur of Zion and being from a subtropical area they had not seen much snow before. They arrived during a heavy snow storm, which adds so much beauty to the scenery.”
Whitworth and Curtis commented that they recognized the deep cultural legacy of Danxiashan.
“With small to massive Chinese writing on the walls from sages, religious people, and poets, many dating well back in time,” Whitworth said. “We visited a Buddhist Monastery high up on the cliffs for women monks, who were very gracious.”
They also commented on the magnificent scenery.
Whitworth and Curtis said they found the landscapes of Zion and Danxiashan to be similar.
“(Their park) is in a jungle setting rather than a desert like ours,” Curtis said.
Whitworth said he was impressed with Danxiashan’s landscape.
“It was definitely a spectacular landscape,” Whitworth said.
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