Lushan National Park Inscribed :1996 Location: Jiangxi Province Brief description: Mount Lushan, in Jiangxi, is one of the spiritual centers of Chinese civilization. Buddhist and
Taoist temples, along with landmarks of Confucianism, where the most eminent masters taught, blend well into a strikingly beautiful landscape which has inspired countless artists who developed the aesthetic approach to nature found in Chinese culture.

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Mt. Emei and Leshan Giant Buddha Inscribed : 1996 Location: Sichuan Province Brief description: The first Buddhist temple in China was built here in Sichuan province in the first century in very beautiful surroundings atop Mt. Emei. The addition of other temples turned the site into one of the main holy places of Buddhism. Over the centuries, the cultural treasures grew in number. The most remarkable was the Giant Buddha of Leshan, carved out of a hillside in the eighth century and looking down on

the junction of three rivers. At 71 meters high, it is the largest Buddha in the world. Mt. Emei is also notable for its very diverse vegetation, ranging from sub-tropical to sub-alpine pine forests. Some of the trees are more than a thousand years old.

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	The Old Town of Lijiang Inscribed : 1997 Location: Yunnan Province Brief description: The Old Town of Lijiang, which is perfectly adapted to the uneven topography of this key commercial and strategic site, has retained a historic townscape of high
quality and authenticity. Its architecture is noteworthy for the blending of elements from several cultures that have come together over many centuries. Lijiang also possesses an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that still functions effectively today.

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The Ancient City of Ping Yao Inscribed : 1997 Location: Shanxi Province Brief description: Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city, founded in the 14th century. Its urban fabric is an epitome of the evolution of architectural styles and town planning in Imperial China over five centuries. Of special interest are the imposing buildings associated with banking, for which Ping Yao was the center for the whole of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

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	Classical Gardens of Suzhou Inscribed: 1997, 2000 Location: Jiangsu Province Brief description: Classical Chinese garden design, which seeks to recreate natural landscapes in miniature, is nowhere better illustrated than in the nine gardens in the historic city of
Suzhou. They are universally acknowledged to be masterpieces of the genre. Dating from the 16th-18th centuries, the gardens reflect the profound metaphysical importance of natural beauty in Chinese culture in their meticulous design.

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	Summer Palace, and Imperial Garden in Beijing Inscribed : 1998 Location: Beijing Brief description: The Summer Palace in Beijing, which was first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860,
and restored on its original foundation in 1886, is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design, integrating the natural landscape of hills and open water with manmade features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges into a harmonious and aesthetically exceptional whole.

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	Temple of Heaven, and Imperial Sacrificial Altar in Beijing Inscribed : 1998 Location: Beijing Brief description: The Temple of Heaven, founded in the
first half of the 15th century, is a dignified complex of fine cult buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods. In its overall layout and in that of its individual buildings, it symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven which stand at the heart of Chinese cosmogony, and also the special role played by the emperors within that relationship.

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Mount Wuyi Inscribed :1999 Location: Fujian Province  Brief description: Mount Wuyi is the most outstanding area for biodiversity conservation in south-east China and a refuge

for a large number of ancient, relict species, many of them endemic to China. The serene beauty of the dramatic gorges of the Nine Bend River, with its numerous temples and monasteries, many now in ruins, provided the setting for the development and spread of Neo-Confucianism, which has been very influential in the cultures of East Asia since the 11th century. In the 1st century BC, the Han Dynasty rulers built a large administrative capital nearby Chengcun. Its massive walls enclose an archaeological site of great significance.

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	The Dazu Rock Carvings Inscribed : 1999 Location: Chongqing Municipality Brief description: The steep hillsides in the Dazu area contain an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the 9th to 13th centuries. They are remarkable for their high aesthetic qualities, for their rich diversity of subject matter, both
secular and religious, and for the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the coming together of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism in a harmonious synthesis.

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	Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan  Irrigation System Inscribed : 2000 Location: Sichuan Province Brief description: Construction of the Dujianyang Irrigation system began in the 3rd century BC, and it continues to control the waters of the Minjiang river and distribute it to the fertile farmland of the Chengdu plains. Mount Qingcheng was the
birthplace of Taoism, which is celebrated in a series of ancient temples.

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	Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui, Xidi and Hongcun Inscribed : 2000 Location: Anhui Province Brief description: The two traditional villages of Xidi and
Hongcun preserve to a remarkable extent the appearance of non-urban settlements of a type that has largely disappeared or has been transformed in the past century. Their street patterns, their architecture and decoration, and the integration of houses with comprehensive water systems are unique survivals.

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Longmen Grottoes Inscribed : 2000 Location: Henan province Brief description: The grottoes and niches of Longmen contain the largest and most impressive collection of the plastic art of China in the late period of the Northern Wei Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty (493-907). This art, depicting entirely religious subjects from Buddhism, represents the apogee of the Chinese art of stone carving.

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Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties Inscribed : 2000 Multiple locations: 1. Zhongxiang, Hebei Province 2. Baoding, Hebei Province 3. Zunhua, Hebei Province Brief description: The Ming and Qing imperial tombs are natural sites modified by human influence, carefully chosen according to the principles of geomancy (Fengshui) to house numerous buildings of traditional architectural design and decoration. They illustrate the continuity over five centuries of a worldview and concept of power specific to feudal China.

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Yungang Grottoes Inscribed : 2001 Location : Datong City, Shanxi Province Brief description: The Yungang Grottoes, in Datong city, Shanxi Province, with their 252 caves and 51,000 statues, represent the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art in China in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Five Caves created by Tan Yao, with their strict unity of layout and design, constitute a classical masterpiece of the first peak of Chinese Buddhist art.

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Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas Inscribed : 2003 Locations: Multiple locations, Yunnan Province Brief description: Consisting of eight geographical clusters of protected areas within the boundaries of the Three Parallel Rivers National Park, in the mountainous northwest of Yunnan province, the 1.7-million-hectare site features sections of the upper reaches of three of the great rivers of Asia: the Yangtze (Jinsha), Mekong and Salween run roughly parallel, north to south, through steep gorges which, in places, are 3,000 m deep and are bordered by glaciated peaks more than 6000 m high. The site is an epicentre of Chinese biodiversity. It is also one of the richest temperate regions of the world, in terms of biodiversity.

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Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom Inscribed : 2004 Locations: Multiple locations, Jilin and Liaoning Provinces Brief description: The site includes archaeological remains of three cities and 40 tombs: Wunu Mountain City, Guonei City and Wandu Mountain City, 14 tombs are imperial, 26 of nobles. All belong to the koguryo culture, named after the dynasty that ruled over parts of northern half of the Korean Peninsula from 77 BC to 668 AD.

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Macao Special Administrative Region Inscribed : 2005 Locations: Macao Brief description: Macao, a lucrative port of strategic importance in the development of international trade, was under Portuguese administration from the mid 16th century until 1999, when it came under Chinese sovereignty. With its historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic centre of Macao provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West. The site also contains a fortress and a lighthouse, which is the oldest in China. The site bears testimony to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West based on the vibrancy of international trade.

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