List of World Heritage Sites in China

This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China. China has 41, ranking third in the world. China ratified The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on December 12, 1985. These sites comprise some of the most essential part of China's valuable and rich tourism resources.

Overview

Since joining the International Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, China has 41 world heritage sites to date; of these 29 are cultural heritage sites, eight are natural heritage sites, and four are cultural and natural (mixed) sites, ranking third in the world. Since 2004, China has made the first large-scale renovations on six world cultural heritage sites in Beijing - the Ming Tombs, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and the "Peking Man" site at Zhoukoudian, all of which are planned for completion before 2008. In addition, 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.

List

* = World Cultural Site

† = World Natural Site

*† = World Cultural and Natural Site (Mixed)

By chronological order:

#	Image	Name	Location	Date	Number	Criteria
1		Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Forbidden City and Mukden Palace*	Beijing (the Forbidden City) and Shenyang (Mukden Palace)	1987, 2004	439	I, II, III, IV
2		Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor *	Xi'an, Shaanxi province	1987	441	I, III, IV, VI
3		Mogao Caves *	Dunhuang, Gansu province	1987	440	I, II, III, IV, V, VI
4		Mount Taishan *†	Shandong province	1987	437	I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
5		Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian *	Beijing municipality	1987	449	III, VI
6		The Great Wall*	Northern China (Liaoning, Hebei, Tianjin, Beijing, Shanxi, Inner Mongolia, Shaanxi, Ningxia, Gansu and Qinghai)	1987	438	I, II, III, IV, VI
7		Mount Huangshan *†	Anhui province	1990	547	II, VII, X
8		Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area †	Sichuan province	1992	638	VII
9		Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area †	Sichuan province	1992	637	VII
10		Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area †	Hunan province	1992	640	VII
11		Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains *	Hubei province	1994	705	I, II, VI
12		Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, including the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka *	Lhasa, Tibet	1994, 2000, 2001	705	I, IV, VI
13		Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples in Chengde *	Hebei province	1994	703	II, IV
14		Temple and Cemetery of Confucius, and the Kong Family Mansion *	Qufu, Shandong province	1994	704	I, IV, VI
15		Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area *†	Sichuan province	1996	779	IV, VI, X
16		Lushan National Park *	Jiangxi province	1996	778	II, III, IV, VI
17		Ancient City of Ping Yao *	Shanxi province	1997	812	II, III, IV
18		Classical Gardens of Suzhou *	Jiangsu province	1997, 2000	813	I, II, III, IV, V
19		Old Town of Lijiang *	Yunnan province	1997	811	II, IV, V
20		Summer Palace *	Beijing	1998	880	I, II, III
21		Temple of Heaven *	Beijing	1998	881	I, II, III
22		Dazu Rock Carvings *	Chongqing municipality	1999	912	I, II, III
23		Mount Wuyi *†	Fujian province	1999	911	III, VI, VII, X
24		Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun *	Anhui province	2000	1002	III, IV, V
25		Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Ming Dynasty Tombs and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum *	Beijing	2000, 2003, 2004	1004	III, IV, V
26		Longmen Grottoes *	Luoyang, Henan province	2000	1003	I, II, III
27		Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System *	Sichuan province	2000	1001	II, IV, VI
28		Yungang Grottoes *	Datong, Shanxi province	2001	1039	I, II, III, IV
29		Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas †	Yunnan province	2003	1083	VII, VIII, IX, X
30		Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom *	Jilin province	2004	1135	I, II, III, IV, V
31		Historic Centre of Macau *	Macau	2005	1110	II, III, IV, VI
32		Yin Xu *	Henan province	2006	1114	II, III, IV, VI
33		Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries †	Sichuan province	2006	1213	X
34		Kaiping Diaolou and Villages *	Guangdong province	2007	1112	II, III, IV
35		South China Karst †	Yunnan, Guizhou provinces and Chongqing municipality	2007	1248	VII, VIII
36		Fujian Tulou *	Fujian province	2008	1113	III, IV, V
37		Sanqingshan †	Jiangxi province	2008	1292	VII
38		Mount Wutai *	Shanxi province	2009	1279	II, III, IV, VI
39		Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth” *	Henan province	2010	1305	III, VI
40		China Danxia †	Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Guizhou provinces	2010	1335	VII, VIII, IX, X
41		West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou *	Zhejiang province	2011	1334	II, III, VI

See also

World Heritage Committee UNESCO World Heritage Site Table of World Heritage Sites by country

List of World Heritage Sites in Asia (see template below for more regions) List of UNESCO Biosphere Reserves in China Principles for the Conservation of Heritage Sites in China

References

• World cultural and natural heritage in China

External links

• China - UNESCO World Heritage Centre
• UNESCO World Heritage Sites - Official site
• UNESCO World Heritage Centre - Official site