This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China. China has 57, ranking second in the world, just below Italy (59). China ratified The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on 12 December 1985. These sites comprise some of the most essential part of China's valuable and rich tourism resources.
Since joining the International Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, China has 57 World Heritage Sites to date; of these 38 are cultural heritage sites, 14 are natural heritage sites, and 4 are cultural and natural (mixed) sites, ranking second in the world.[1]
In addition, there are also several Chinese documents inscribed in UNESCO's list Memory of the World, which registers the world's documentary heritage. Furthermore, China has a rich non-material cultural heritage, with several of them inscribed on UNESCO's list of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity.
Following is a map of the World Heritage Sites in China.
Numbered sites around Beijing: 1. Great Wall; 2. Forbidden City; 3. Zhoukoudian; 4. Summer Palace; 5. Temple of Heaven; 6. Ming tombs; 7. Eastern Qing Tombs; 8. Western Qing Tombs
Legend: Cultural Heritage site; Natural Heritage site; Mixed site
Site | Image | Location | Year listed | UNESCO data | Description |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Forbidden City and Mukden Palace* | |
Beijing (Forbidden City) and Shenyang, Liaoning (Mukden Palace) | 1987, 2004 | I, II, III, IV | 439 |
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor * | Xi'an, Shaanxi | 1987 | I, III, IV, VI | 441 | |
Mogao Caves * | Dunhuang, Gansu | 1987 | I, II, III, IV, V, VI | 440 | |
Mount Tai *† | Tai'an, Shandong | 1987 | I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII | 437 | |
Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian * | Beijing | 1987 | III, VI | 449 | |
The Great Wall* | Northern China | 1987 | I, II, III, IV, VI | 438 | |
Mount Huangshan *† | Huangshan City, Anhui | 1990 | II, VII, X | 547 | |
Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area † | Songpan County, Sichuan | 1992 | VII | 638 | |
Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area † | Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan | 1992 | VII | 637 | |
Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area † | Zhangjiajie, Hunan | 1992 | VII | 640 | |
Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, including the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka * | Lhasa, Tibet | 1994, 2000, 2001 | I, IV, VI | 707 | |
Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains * | Hubei | 1994 | I, II, VI | 705 | |
Chengde Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples in Chengde * | Chengde, Hebei | 1994 | II, IV | 703 | |
Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu * | Qufu, Shandong | 1994 | I, IV, VI | 704 | |
Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area *† | Emeishan City (Mt. Emei) and Leshan (Giant Buddha), Sichuan | 1996 | IV, VI, X | 779 | |
Mountain Lu National Park *† | Jiujiang, Jiangxi | 1996 | II, III, IV, VI | 778 | |
Ancient City of Pingyao * | Pingyao County, Shanxi | 1997 | II, III, IV | 812 | |
Classical Gardens of Suzhou * | Suzhou, Jiangsu | 1997, 2000 | I, II, III, IV, V | 813 | |
Old Town of Lijiang * | Lijiang, Yunnan | 1997 | II, IV, V | 811 | |
Summer Palace * | Beijing | 1998 | I, II, III | 880 | |
Temple of Heaven * | Beijing | 1998 | I, II, III | 881 | |
Dazu Rock Carvings * | Dazu District, Chongqing | 1999 | I, II, III | 912 | |
Mount Wuyi *† | Fujian, Jiangxi | 1999 | III, VI, VII, X | 911 | |
Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun * | Yi County, Anhui | 2000 | III, IV, V | 1002 | |
Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Ming tombs and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum * | Beijing and Nanjing, Jiangsu | 2000, 2003, 2004 | III, IV, V | 1004 | |
Longmen Grottoes * | Luoyang, Henan | 2000 | I, II, III | 1003 | |
Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System * | Dujiangyan City, Sichuan | 2000 | II, IV, VI | 1001 | |
Yungang Grottoes * | Datong, Shanxi | 2001 | I, II, III, IV | 1039 | |
Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas † | Yunnan | 2003 | VII, VIII, IX, X | 1083 | |
Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom * | Ji'an, Jilin | 2004 | I, II, III, IV, V | 1135 | |
Historic Centre of Macau * | Macau | 2005 | II, III, IV, VI | 1110 | |
Yinxu * | Anyang, Henan | 2006 | II, III, IV, VI | 1114 | |
Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries † | Sichuan | 2006 | X | 1213 | |
Kaiping Diaolou and Villages * | Kaiping, Guangdong | 2007 | II, III, IV | 1112 | |
South China Karst † | Yunnan, Guizhou, Chongqing and Guangxi | 2007, 2014 | VII, VIII | 1248 | |
Fujian Tulou * | Fujian | 2008 | III, IV, V | 1113 | |
Sanqingshan † | Yushan County, Jiangxi | 2008 | VII | 1292 | |
Mount Wutai * | Wutai County, Shanxi | 2009 | II, III, IV, VI | 1279 | |
Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Centre of Heaven and Earth" * | Dengfeng, Henan | 2010 | III, VI | 1305 | |
China Danxia † | Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Guizhou | 2010 | VII, VIII, IX, X | 1335 | |
West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou * | Hangzhou, Zhejiang | 2011 | II, III, VI | 1334 | |
Site of Xanadu * | Zhenglan Banner, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia | 2012 | II, III, IV, VI | 1389 | |
Chengjiang Fossil Site † | Chengjiang County, Yunnan | 2012 | VIII | 1388 | |
Xinjiang Tianshan † | Xinjiang | 2013 | VII, IX | 1414 | |
Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces * | Yuanyang County, Yunnan | 2013 | III, V | 1111 | |
Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor * | Luoyang, Lingbao of Henan; Xi'an, Bin County and Chenggu of Shaanxi; Tianshui, Yongjing, Dunhuang and Anxi of Gansu; Turpan, Jimsar and Kuqa of Xinjiang | 2014 | II, III, IV, VI | 1442 | |
Grand Canal * | Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Henan | 2014 | I, III, IV, VI | 1443 | |
Tusi Sites * | Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou | 2015 | II, III | 1474 | |
Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape * | Guangxi | 2016 | III, VI | 1508 | |
Hubei Shennongjia † | Hubei | 2016 | IX, X | 1509 | |
Qinghai Hoh Xil † | Qinghai | 2017 | VII, X | 1540 | |
Kulangsu: a Historic International Settlement * | Xiamen, Fujian | 2017 | II, IV | 1541 | |
Fanjingshan † | Tongren, Guizhou | 2018 | X | 1559 | |
Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City * | Hangzhou and Deqing County, Zhejiang | 2019 | III, IV | 1592 | |
Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I) † | Yancheng, Jiangsu | 2019 | X | 1606 | |
Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China | Quanzhou, Fujian | 2021 | IV | 1561 | |
Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er | Yunnan | 2023 | III, V | 1665 |
There are the sites China has submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list.[2]