On December 7th, under the guidance of the Nature Reserve Management Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the Forestry Bureau of Hunan Province, and the People's Government of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, The 2022 China UNESCO Global Geoparks Annual Conference, jointly organized by the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, the National Geoparks Network Center, the Office of the Global Geoparks Network, and the Xiangxi UNESCO Global Geopark, was successfully held in Xiangxi Prefecture. The theme of this conference was the construction and development of Global Geoparks under the New situation.

Due to the impact of the epidemic, this year's annual meeting was held for the first time in a combination of online and offline formats. The Zhijindong Cave Administration Bureau (Geopark Office) organized personnel to participate in the form of a video conference. The main venue of this meeting is located in Xiangxi. Nearly 200 leaders, experts, scholars and representatives from the Department of Nature Reserves of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, the forestry and grassland authorities of relevant provinces (autonomous regions and municipalities directly under the Central Government), the Communist Party Committee and the Government of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, China University of Geosciences, as well as 41 China Global Geoparks and 7 candidate Global Geoparks and other relevant units gathered both online and offline. Exchange and share experiences in the construction and management of Global geoparks.

The conference is divided into three sections: the opening ceremony, keynote speeches and the closing ceremony. At the opening ceremony, Guo Zhenggui, the Secretary of the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Committee, attended the ceremony and delivered a welcoming speech. Yuan Xiaohong, a second-level inspector of the Nature Reserve Management Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, and Wang Min, deputy director of the Geological Heritage Research Office of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, delivered online speeches on behalf of Ma Yan, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Jin Xiaochi, vice chairperson of the Executive Board of the Global Geoparks Network, and Li Linshan, deputy director of the Hunan Provincial Forestry Bureau and a member of the Party Group. Li Ping, Chairperson of the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Director of the Xiangxi Global Geopark Management Committee, Xiang Bangwei, member of the Standing Committee of the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture Committee of the Communist Party of China and Secretary-General of the Prefectural Committee, Gao Xiangwen, vice governor of the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture People's Government, and Gao Wenhua, former vice director of the Standing Committee of the Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture People's Congress, attended the opening ceremony.

At the closing ceremony, Long Xiaohua, the governor of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, extended his congratulations on the successful convening of this year's annual meeting. Ma Yan, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, announced that the Yimeng Mountain Global Geopark would be the organizer of the 2023 China UNESCO Global Geopark Annual Conference. Long Xiaohua, governor of Xiangxi Autonomous Prefecture, handed over the conference flag to representatives of the Yimeng Mountain Global Geopark. Yuan Xiaohong, a second-level inspector of the Nature Reserve Management Department of the National Forestry and Grassland Administration, delivered a summary speech at this year's annual meeting and declared it closed.