The characteristics of formation, development and evolution of National Protected Areas in China

Abstract

This paper considers that the history of Chinese civilization is the historical foundation for the nationally protected areas and features the protected areas of China. After 1950, the formation, development and evolution of various protected areas conformed to the fundamental law of development of Chinese civilization. The protected areas are divided into three categories, namely the natural protected areas, cultural protected areas and comprehensive protected areas for the nature and culture. The natural protected areas are composed mainly of the national parks; the cultural protected areas are composed mainly of the Major Historical and Cultural Sites Protected at the National Level; and the comprehensive protected areas are composed mainly of National-level Scenic and Historic Interest Areas. In the new era of building an ecological civilization, it is crucial to develop a national protected area system including the aforementioned three protection systems in accordance with the unified deployment of the Central government. Three protection systems are supposed to cover various protected areas in China and develop a system of nationally protected areas with Chinese characteristics.