List of World Heritage Sites in China

Summary

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.

Overview edit

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.

Map edit

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

World Heritage Sites edit

* = World Cultural Heritage Site
† = World Natural Heritage Site
*† = World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site (Mixed)
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 [zh]   Quanzhou, Fujian 2021 IV 1561
Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er   Yunnan 2023 III, V 1665

Tentative list edit

There are the sites China has submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list.[2]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ "China". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 28 September 2021.
  2. ^ Centre, UNESCO World Heritage. "UNESCO World Heritage Centre – Tentative Lists". whc.unesco.org. Retrieved 9 April 2019.

External links edit

  • Official centre website
  • Official sites website
  • Official UNESCO World Heritage Centre website