Having Been to the Loess Plateau, I Didn't Know There Was a Loess National Geopark. Come On, Let Me Take You to See It

China is so vast, I want to see it. Let me take you to a place you may or may not have visited.

Having been to the Loess Plateau, I didn't know there was a Loess National Geopark. Come on, let me take you to see it.

When we talk about the Loess Plateau, we think of northern Shaanxi; when we talk about Luochuan in northern Shaanxi, we think of Luochuan apples. Luochuan belongs to Yan'an, Shaanxi, and is located in the core area of the world's best apple-growing region. In 1947, a local named Li Xin'an brought back 200 apple saplings from Lingbao, Henan, and dedicated himself to their cultivation and promotion, thus ushering in a new era for apple growing in northern Shaanxi. To this day, northern Shaanxi produces high-quality apples nationwide. Additionally, the famous "Luochuan Conference" in the history of the Chinese Communist Party was held here (see the previously published article).

When you arrive in Luochuan, there is also the only national-level and unique-in-the-world loess geopark—Luochuan Loess National Geopark.

In 2014, the ticket for the Luochuan Loess Geological Museum was 25 yuan.

Taking a taxi from the county seat to Zui'gu Village in the southern part of the county, the Loess Geological Museum is located in the village. It is currently the only geological museum in China and even the world that focuses on loess. However, it is quite small and there really isn't much to see—just some pictures and explanatory displays.

Leaving the museum, I crossed the national highway and headed toward the geopark.

Luochuan Yuan (a plateau formed by rainwater erosion in the Loess Plateau region, with steep sides and a flat top, called a loess yuan) is a large loess sedimentary basin and a famous yuan on the Loess Plateau. Loess yuan is a unique geomorphic unit of the Loess Plateau, characterized by thick loess, high terrain, flat top, and deeply incised edges. The top of Luochuan Yuan represents the highest accumulation surface of loess, the loess strata in the yuan body are well developed, and the ancient bedrock surface at the bottom is relatively flat. All of this may sound somewhat professional.

There was no shuttle bus, so I had to walk alone from the top of the yuan to the bottom of the ravine along a 1.7 km path.

I walked all the way from the flat top of the loess yuan to the loess gullies—this is the loess yuan. Apart from hearing some technical terms, I know very little about earth science. There were many educational signboards along the way, and I took photos of each one, about forty-plus items. For me, reading the content didn't reveal much, but in the eyes of Academician Liu Dongsheng, who studied loess, "Luochuan loess is the standard site for one of the three pillars for understanding global climate and environmental changes; protecting it is of great significance to world scientific research." That's probably the difference between us and those who study loess geology.

Academician Liu Dongsheng (1917–2008), a geologist and the father of loess, made a large number of original research achievements in loess studies, pushing China to the forefront of global paleoenvironmental change research. He won the Tyler Prize (the Nobel Prize in the field of environmental science) in 2002, the highest national science and technology award in 2003, and set foot on the three poles (the North Pole, South Pole, and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau), exploring past and present climate changes, embracing the five continents, seeking the cycles of heaven and earth—a remarkable scientist. Inside the park, there is an unremarkable small bridge named Tyler Bridge.

The main body of the geopark is Heimu Gully, covering an area of 8.2 square kilometers. The loess geological remains in Heimu Gully are natural heritage formed and preserved through long geological history under various endogenic and exogenic geological processes.

The Potou section is a typical loess geological section in China and even the world. This section reveals extremely rich paleoclimate environmental information from the Quaternary period and is the foundation of this geopark. Unexpectedly, the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake also severely affected this area. In 2011, a new Potou loess section was built near the original one, and a monument was erected, showing its importance.

I looked at the annotations again and again, understanding only half of it. If I couldn't understand the geology, at least I could enjoy the geological scenery.

In addition to built roads, the geopark also has "wild paths." I walked wherever I could. I had a look at both what I could understand and what I couldn't, and I'll show you as well.

This "beacon tower" was the only thing I could recognize. For the rest, I lacked imagination, so I just took in the geological wonders and broadened my horizons.

This one might be a "loess rocket."

To enhance the landscape and recreation, an artificial lake called Ganluo Lake was built in the park. Ganluo, due to his merits, was granted the title of Shangqing (equivalent to Prime Minister) by King Yingzheng of Qin (later Qin Shi Huang). According to local Luochuan historical records, Ganluo was a native of Luochuan, considered a local celebrity.

This is indeed a niche travel destination. If you come to northern Shaanxi, to Luochuan, you should come and see it.