Abstract: Cultural development has recently emerged as a central task in driving the high-quality development of China′s national parks. This evolution marks the expansion of national park concepts from ecological protection to a broader integration of the cultural dimensions of human-nature relationships. The passage of the National Park Law of the People′s Republic of China in September 2025 was the first to establish "cultivating national park culture" as a legal mandate, underscoring the role of culture as a crucial pillar in the construction of an ecological civilization. It highlights national parks as key spaces exemplifying harmonious coexistence between humans and nature. Despite notable progress in ecological protection, critical theoretical and methodological gaps remain regarding understanding how to preserve, cultivate, and activate the cultural dimensions within national parks that coexist with natural ecosystems, shape public values, and support a tiered value system of authenticity, ecosystem public services, and ecologically compatible economic value. To address these gaps, this paper systematically identifies and elaborates four foundational roots of cultural construction in China′s national parks: political root, scientific root, Shan-shui wisdom root, and local culture root. Guided by Xi Jinping′s Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the political root provides fundamental value orientations and institutional leadership for the construction of national parks. It establishes ecological protection as the cornerstone of China′s long-term development and positions national parks as vital carriers of the concept of "living in harmony with nature" in the Chinese path to modernization. This root promotes the integration of ecological protection with cultural identity construction, making national parks emblematic spaces for ecological civilization. The scientific root is embedded in modern conservation thought and multidisciplinary theoretical frameworks such as ecology, conservation biology, and earth system science. This root provides the scientific basis for understanding the objective rules, system dynamics, and feedback mechanisms of human-nature interactions, despite lingering traces of anthropocentric views in some disciplinary tools. With the emphasis on the critical role of scientific reasoning, systemic thinking, and nature-based solutions in national park governance, this root aims to foster a more ecologically aware and informed public culture. As the cultural core of Chinese landscape architecture, Shan-shui, literally meaning "mountains and rivers", embodies the Chinese people′s distinctive views of nature, humanistic values, and practical wisdom. Shan-shui wisdom root derives from ancient Chinese philosophical traditions, including Daoism, Confucianism, and classical landscape philosophy, which view nature as a holistic fusion of the material and spiritual. This root contributes a holistic worldview, aesthetic traditions, and extensive historical practices ranging from macro landscape planning to micro garden design. Despite cognitive limitations from pre-scientific eras, shan-shui wisdom continues to enrich contemporary understandings of harmonious human-nature relationships with its irreplaceable cultural depth and practical experience.Local culture root is embodied in the living ecological wisdom, customary institutions, and cultural practices of local residents within national parks. These local knowledge systems reflect adaptive strategies and ethical norms shaped by long-term coexistence with fragile ecosystems. While not all traditional knowledge aligns perfectly with contemporary conservation needs, local culture root provides indispensable authenticity, social legitimacy, and community vitality to the cultural development of national parks.Based on these four roots, this paper further constructs a genealogical framework for national park culture, nourished by eight essential nutrients: four material nutrients, including "Li" (principles for understanding nature), "Shu" (methods and techniques), "Yong" (functions and applications), and "Zhi" (institutional mechanisms), as well as four spiritual dimensions, namely "Dao" (fundamental thoughts on nature), "De" (values and virtue), "Xiang" (aesthetic imagery and symbolic forms), and "Yi" (cultural meaning and spiritual resonance). This framework reveals how political, scientific, shan-shui wisdom, and local cultural forces interact by drawing on these nutrients to collectively shape a systematic and evolutionary cultural system for national parks. This study provides a systematic theoretical foundation for the cultural development of China′s national parks, clarifying how culture-rooted national park systems can enhance social cohesion, ecological ethics, and shared identity, ultimately contributing China′s unique practical wisdom to global ecological civilization.