Abstract: China’s new national park system is an important step in protecting its natural and cultural. National parks provide an important cornerstone to that protection, and at the same time secures opportunities for transformative visitor experiences. There are multiple pathways to a viable national park system. Those pathways include one dealing with the “why”, one concerning the “how”, and one addressing the “what”. These pathways help in responding to the challenges and opportunities in building a national park system. There is also a control pathway that emphasizes policies and procedures that helps synchronize and integrate the three other pathways. Importantly, the park system not only protects (the “why”), its ecological integrity, but also aims to provide opportunities for transformative visitor experiences. Such experiences deal with learning, inspiring visitors to seek more information, and empowers them to explore other places. The “what” deals with other dimensions of the pathways, most importantly building capacity to plan and manage in a global context of uncertainty and change.