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Recreation, Sport and the Arts
Established in 1973, the HKYHA has been running, planning, and marketing youth hostels for 40 years. The HKYHA currently operates seven youth hostels and has over 30,000 life members and 25,000 individual and corporate members. It is also an affiliate of Hostelling International, an organisation with over four million members worldwide.
In January 2012, for the sixth consecutive year the HKYHA organised the 'Ngong Ping Charity Walk' at the scenic North Lantau Island Country Park. It attracted over 1,000 participants and raised much needed funds for hostel enhancement, environmental protection, and the HKYHA's conservation projects.
Since August 2012, the HKYHA's refurbished Jockey Club Mount Davis Youth Hostel has been in service. The renovated hostel provides guests with a spectacular view of Hong Kong's iconic Victoria Harbour as well as an array of new facilities. The HKYHA is also working closely with the Government to transform Mei Ho House, a former six-storey resettlement block in Shek Kip Mei, into a first-of-its-kind city hostel and a cultural landmark in Sham Shui Po. The YHA Mei Ho House Youth Hostel is scheduled to open in the first half of 2013. In addition to running the hostel, the HKYHA will set up the 'Mei Ho House of Livelihood' museum and form a citizens' group, 'Mei Ho House Alumni Network, to conserve the district's culture and history.
Country and Marine Parks
Some 40 per cent of Hong Kong's total land area has been designated as country parks and special areas for nature conservation, outdoor recreation and nature education. The 24 country parks and 22 special areas provide extensive hiking trails, barbecue, picnic and camp sites and visitors' centres which attracted over 13 million visitors in 2012.
In March, the Tin Fu Tsai North Section Mountain Bike Trail in Tai Lam Country Park opened, providing an additional route for mountain biking.
Visitors can enjoy and learn about the beauty and diversity of Hong Kong's marine life at four marine parks and one marine reserve. The Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department manages the country parks, special areas, marine parks, marine reserve, the Hong Kong Wetland Park and Hong Kong Global Geopark of China.
Hong Kong Global Geopark of China
The Hong Kong Global Geopark of China is made up of eight Geo-Areas distributed across two regions: the Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region and the Northeast New Territories Sedimentary Rock Region, together occupying 5,000 hectares of land in the east and northeast New Territories. The Sai Kung Volcanic Rock Region reveals spectacular hexagonal volcanic rock columns, in size and composition rarely found elsewhere in the world. The Northeast New Territories Sedimentary Rock Region comprises rocks formed by different earth processes over 400 million years, endowing them with great historical and educational interest.
In collaboration with the Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong and the Association for Geoconservation, Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Geopark has set up an accredited geopark guide system to ensure the quality of the interpretation and guide services for visitors by encouraging
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