What Does a Park Superintendent Do?

Tibet Ali Night Park is located in Ali, Tibet, covering an area of 2,500 square kilometers.

Tibet Ali Night Park

Ali of Tibet builds Asia's first "dark night starry sky". The dark night protected area in the Ali area of the Tibet Autonomous Region of China has recently been put into operation. It is expected to become the first dark night protected area in Asia, providing high-quality nighttime environmental protection for world-class astronomical observation sites, Lovers provide a good place to observe the night sky, and promote the unique starry sky tourism in the Ali area. ^[1]

The head of the Ali District Tourism Bureau told reporters on the 23rd that the Ali Dark Night Reserve covers an area of 2,500 square kilometers, including the core and peripheral areas. Outdoor lighting in the protected area will be planned, transformed and managed in accordance with international standards to prevent and control light pollution, so that high-quality night sky resources are protected like other heritage.

In order to allow more tourists to enjoy the beautiful night sky, the Ali regional government has built a dark night park and astronomical square on the outer edge of the reserve. The park is located about 25 kilometers south of Shiquanhe Town, at an altitude of 4,200 meters, and includes the starry sky experience area, telescope observation area and passenger service area. With the support of the Beijing Astronomical Observatory, the park will install six 800-mm astronomical telescopes, including four refracting mirrors and two reflecting mirrors, which are top-level observation equipment for amateur astronomy enthusiasts. It is understood that the cumulative investment of the Dark Night Park has exceeded 5 million yuan, and has been supported by the Ali regional government, the National Astronomical Observatory and the Beijing Planetarium.

Dark night areas are selected by the International Dark Night Association to call for global light pollution control, and some areas with excellent dark night conditions have been selected worldwide. In these areas, people can enjoy the night sky map composed of dozens or even hundreds of stars on sunny days, and they can also capture the shooting stars across the sky. ^[1]

Wang Xiaohua, person in charge of the China Starry Sky Project of the Beijing Branch of the International Dark Night Association, said that the dark night area mainly includes three forms of dark night park, dark night community, and dark night protection area. At present, there are 16 dark night parks, 6 dark night communities, and 5 dark night reserves in the world. There are no dark night areas in Asia that have been approved by the International Dark Night Association. Ali Dark Night Reserve is submitting an application to the International Dark Night Association, and strives for approval next year.

"The Ali region has high altitudes, many sunny days, high transparency, low water vapor, relatively stable sight, and has the natural conditions for the construction of dark night reserves," said Wang Xiaohua.

Wang Xiaohua also said that there are two excellent astronomical sites in use in the world, the northern hemisphere is in Hawaii, the southern hemisphere is in Chile, and Ali conditions are in between, which is especially valued by Asian astronomy enthusiasts. The Ali Observatory, built with the support of relevant countries, will become the best observatory in Asia and the top in the world. "This kind of resource is scarce in the world and needs to be carefully protected. This is the fundamental reason for establishing the Ali Dark Night Reserve." He said.

According to reports, the Ali Dark Night Reserve will be based on the theme of "Ali in the sky, the most beautiful starry sky", creating a new business card and new highlights of Ali Starry Tourism, and will appear at the International Light Year Conference next year in Paris, France.

Thanks to its superior natural conditions, the Ali area has been favored by astronomers in recent years. In 2012, the East Asian Core Observatory Alliance (EACOA), composed of astronomers across the Taiwan Strait, Japan, and Korea, confirmed that the southwestern part of the Ali region was a candidate area for the joint construction of a world-class astronomical observatory in East Asia. At present, the construction of the Ali Observatory has begun to take shape, and 50 cm telescope observation equipment has been set up. Astronomers are considering constructing large telescopes here to promote astronomical observation research in East Asia. ^[1]