Huangshan National Forest Park in Anhui, China, established sister-park relationships with Banff National Park of Canada, becoming the first pair of sister parks between the two countries, Ahta.com.cn reported on August 6.

To protect natural reserves with Canada's experiences, the National Forestry Bureau of China signed a MOU with Environment Canada on the natural reserves cooperation plan in February 2012. In October of the same year, the cooperation between the two parks was included in the plan.

In the next eight months after the establishment of sister-park relationships, a joint working group was founded to implement the cooperation plan in areas of promotion, protection, management and marketing. The cooperation was expected to strengthen protection of natural reserves and promote tourism.

Huangshan National Forest Park, located in the south of Anhui province and featuring the Huangshan Mountains, consists of Shilishan Natural Reserve and four State-owned forest farms -- Youshan, Lushan, Huangshan and Yanghu. It has beautiful sceneries and various animal and plant resources.

Banff National Park, the first national park in Canada founded in 1885, has a lot of experience with the protection and management of natural resources. It lies in the northern part of the Rocky Mountains, one of the most beautiful places on the North American continent. It is inhabited by cherished creatures such as mountain lions and leopards. In the early 1990s, its ecological system was threatened by the huge amount of tourists. Since then, the park authority has started related research and taken a series of measures to control tourist levels.

By Guo Yi

Edited by Michael Thai