Second Gansu Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection and Development Project - Executive Summary - ESIA Reports for Two New Subprojects (Jingtai and Kangxian)

Jul 19, 2026

Executive Summary for ESIA Reports presents the environmental impact assessment results supporting a project restructuring for the Second Gansu Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection and Development Project. Two original subprojects were dropped due to environmental regulatory issues, while two new subprojects were added: Jingtai Yellow River Stone Forest tourism and community development, and a new Kangxian county tourism and community improvement expansion. Key findings cover stakeholder consultation outcomes, site planning within nature reserve constraints, ecological impact conclusions, and recommended mitigation measures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages13

Reading Time33 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Summary of the EIA report for Jingtai Subproject

Project background

Key EIA findings

Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Second Gansu Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection and Development Project (P149528) Executive Summary for ESIA Reports of Two New Subprojects (Kangxian Subproject and Jingtai Subproject) proposed as part of the Project Restructuring 1. Introduction In the restructuring of Second Gansu Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection and Development Project, two subprojects of Kongtong Mountain Scenic Area and Zhuanglang County Yunya Temple Scenic Area have been dropped due to environmental regulation issues. At the same time, some new activities are added under two subprojects, one is the new Jingtai Yellow River Stone Forest Tourism and Community Development Project (simplified as Jingtai subproject below) and the other is the Kangxian County Tourism and Community Improvement Project (simplified as new Kangxian subproject below, expansion based on original Kangxian subproject) . During restructuring, the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) was conducted to support the preparation of these two new subprojects following both domestic regulations and the World Bank’s safeguards policies, of which the key findings and recommendations are summarized in this Executive Summary. 2. Summary of the EIA report for Jingtai Subproject 2.1 Project background Jingtai Yellow River Stone Forest is located in the southeast of Jingtai County in Baiyin City of Gansu Province, which is a national geologic park and a national 4A scenic tourism site as well as a provincial nature reserve for geological relics. Since its official establishment as the scenic site in 2004, the site has been developed as one of the most attractive tourism sites in Gansu as well as in China. By 2016, the annual tourists reached about 860,000 . The Yellow River Stone Forest improvement was one of the subprojects under WB financed Phase I Gansu Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection and Development Project (2008 -2015), under which a 2.5 km access road, a 3000m2 parking lot and a 2500m2 museum was constructed/upgraded together with other supportive works. Since then, the Yellow River Stone Forest also experienced rapid tourist volume growth with the quadrupling of tourist volume from 2010 to 2016. The fast-growing tourist volume has put tremendous pressure on the current infrastructures and facilities in the scenic site. The existing facilities cannot accommodate the current large amount of the tourists. Meanwhile, the tourists not only visited the stone forest park, but also brought tremendous businesses to the local communities from foods, sightsees, lodging, riverside activities, etc. The new subproject for Yellow River Stone Forest was therefore proposed to address the needs for both the improvements of scenic site facilities and the community development of Longwan Village. The estimated investment for the subproject is about $40.40 million, in which about $30.00 million will be financed by WB loan. The project activities are mainly small-scale civil works including the followings: a. Scenic area upgrades: i) Binhe Road and associated facilities; ii) tourist walkways; iii) No. 2 bridge near Yellow River watermill; iv) parking lots; v) tourist rest corridors; vi) landscaping; vii) tourist service center: viii) construction of the park gate; ix) waterfront platforms; x) tourist exchange stations; xii) tourist toilets; xiii) MSW management system; xiv) water, wastewater and power supply facilities; and xv) scenic area smart information system; b. Community development: i) Goat skin raft museum; ii) cultural heritage exhibition hall ; iii) agricultural product display hall; iv) family play yard; v) water channel cleanup; vi) apple cold storage; and vii) village cultural market; c. Capacity development: i) village and tourism corporation and development study; and ii) community development training. 2.2 Key EIA findings During project preparation, the EIA was conducted by a qualifi

FAQs

Why were some subprojects dropped and what new subprojects were introduced?

Two subprojects were dropped due to environmental regulation issues. New activities were added under two replacement subprojects: Jingtai Yellow River Stone Forest Tourism and Community Development, and an expanded new Kangxian County Tourism and Community Improvement project.

Where is the Jingtai Yellow River Stone Forest located and what development context is described?

It is located southeast of Jingtai County in Baiyin City, Gansu Province, identified as a national geologic park and a national 4A scenic site, and also a provincial nature reserve for geological relics.

What were the key ecological impact conclusions and how were potential impacts managed?

An independent ecological impact assessment concluded the project would not involve any critical nature habitat and would not cause significant and irreversible ecological impacts. Recommended mitigation measures are included in the ESIA report, alongside other environmental and social safeguards.

Jul 19, 2026

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