Xinjiang Tianshan

 Xinjiang Tianshan

Xinjiang Tianshan comprises four components—Tomur, Kalajun-Kuerdening, Bayinbukuke and Bogda— that total 606,833 hectares. They are part of the Tianshan mountain system of Central Asia, one of the largest mountain ranges in the world. Xinjiang Tianshan presents unique physical geographic features and scenically beautiful areas including spectacular snow and snowy mountains glacier-capped peaks, undisturbed forests and meadows, clear rivers and lakes and red bed canyons. These landscapes contrast with the vast adjacent desert landscapes, creating a striking visual contrast between hot and cold environments, dry and wet, desolate and luxuriant. The landforms and ecosystems of the site have been preserved since the Pliocene epoch and present an outstanding example of ongoing biological and ecological evolutionary processes. The site also extends into the Taklimakan Desert, one of the world’s largest and highest deserts, known for its large dune forms and great dust storms. Xinjiang Tianshan is moreover an important habitat for endemic and relic flora species, some rare and endangered.

China

N41 58 6 E80 21 15

Date of Inscription: 2013

Criteria: (vii)(ix)

Property : 606,833 ha

Buffer zone: 491,103 ha

Ref: 1414

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mount Huangshan

Huangshan, known as 'the loveliest mountain of China', was acclaimed through art and literature during a good part of Chinese history (e.g. the Shanshui 'mountain and water' style of the mid-16th century). Today it holds the same fascination for visitors, poets, painters and photographers who come on pilgrimage to the site, which is renowned for its magnificent scenery made up of many granite peaks and rocks emerging out of a sea of clouds.

China

N30 10 0.012 E118 10 59.988

Date of Inscription: 1990

Minor modification inscribed year: 2012

Criteria: (ii)(vii)(x)

Property : 16,060 ha

Buffer zone: 49,000 ha

Ref: 547bis

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mount Wuyi

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 influential in the cultures of East Asia since the 11th century. In the 1st century B.C. a large administrative capital was built at nearby Chengcun by the Han dynasty rulers. Its massive walls enclose an archaeological site of great significance.

China

Wuyishan City, Fujian Province

N27 43 0.012 E117 40 59.988

Date of Inscription: 1999

Criteria: (iii)(vi)(vii)(x)

Property : 99,975 ha

Buffer zone: 27,888 ha

Ref: 911

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

City of Quito

City of Quito

Quito, the capital of Ecuador, was founded in the 16th century on the ruins of an Inca city and stands at an altitude of 2,850 m. Despite the 1917 earthquake, the city has the best-preserved, least altered historic centre in Latin America. The monasteries of San Francisco and Santo Domingo, and the Church and Jesuit College of La Compañía, with their rich interiors, are pure examples of the 'Baroque school of Quito', which is a fusion of Spanish, Italian, Moorish, Flemish and indigenous art.

Ecuador

Province of Pinchinada, City and Canton of Quito

N0 0 14 W78 30 0

Date of Inscription: 1978

Criteria: (ii)(iv)

Property : 320 ha

Ref: 2

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Ancient City of Ping Yao

Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city, founded in the 14th century. Its urban fabric shows 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 major centre for the whole of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

China

Ping Yao County, Shan Xi Province

N37 12 5.004 E112 9 15.984

Date of Inscription: 1997

Criteria: (ii)(iii)(iv)

Property : 246 ha

Buffer zone: 96 ha

Ref: 812

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Þingvellir National Park

Brief Description

Þingvellir (Thingvellir) is the National Park where the Althing, an open-air assembly representing the whole of Iceland, was established in 930 and continued to meet until 1798. Over two weeks a year, the assembly set laws - seen as a covenant between free men - and settled disputes. The Althing has deep historical and symbolic associations for the people of Iceland. The property includes the Þingvellir National Park and the remains of the Althing itself: fragments of around 50 booths built from turf and stone. Remains from the 10th century are thought to be buried underground. The site also includes remains of agricultural use from the 18th and 19th centuries. The park shows evidence of the way the landscape was husbanded over 1,000 years.

Iceland

Bláskógabyggð municipality, district of Arnessysla

N64 15 13.7 W21 2 14.1

Date of Inscription: 2004

Criteria: (iii)(vi)

Property : 9,270 ha

Ref: 1152

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Yungang Grottoes

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.

China

Datong City, Shanxi Province

N40 6 34.992 E113 7 19.992

Date of Inscription: 2001

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)

Property : 349 ha

Buffer zone: 847 ha

Ref: 1039

Source: http://whc.unesco.org