Dashushan Forest Park in Hefei, capital of Anhui province, will be officially upgraded to state level, thus becoming the province's first national urban forest park, said Mei Guosheng, director of the bureau of gardens of Hefei.

Covering a total area of more than 667 hectares, the park began to prepare for the upgrade in 2010. Eventually, it got the nod from a panel of experts with the State Forestry Administration (SFA) in the middle of November 2012.

Once officially approved, Dashushan will have higher standards in protecting and improving forest resources. Mei revealed that the bureau is compiling related plans and will beef up protection of the park in the near future.

Dashushan Forest Park to become state-level park(Photo provided by anhuinews.com)