A plan map of Yixing Huanglong Mountain Geopark in Dingshu town, Yixing. [Photo/wxrb.com]

Construction will start soon on the Yixing Huanglong Mountain Geopark in Dingshu town, Yixing, according to local media outlets.

Yixing has long been renowned for its purple clay art. Boasting a history of more than 2,000 years, the city sits on the west bank of Taihu Lake and is known as China's pottery capital. The pottery in Yixing differs from that elsewhere, as it is made from a special purple clay sourced from local rock mines.

Huanglong Mountain in Dingshu town boasts a largest amount of high-quality purple clay. Its surrounding area is also home to numerous historical and cultural sites and blocks related to purple clay art.

Dingshu town started designing the Huanglong Mountain Geopark at the end of 2019 as a landmark for purple clay.

The geopark will cover an area of about 230,000 square meters and is expected to become the first open-air geological museum in Jiangsu province. Construction will finish in 2023.

A plan map of Yixing Huanglong Mountain Geopark in Dingshu town, Yixing. [Photo/wxrb.com]

Construction on the park will make use of natural resources such as mines, mine tracks, mountains and rocks in the area to showcase the original geological landforms, cultural mine sites, and natural vegetation of the mine lake. Supporting facilities such as exhibition halls and bookstores will also be built for basic research, exhibition collection, and popular science education.

The Yixing Mine Source Exhibition Hall will be built on the east side of the No 4 mine – the largest and most famous purple clay mine with the most advanced facilities, deepest tunnel excavation and highest annual output in the planned economy era.