Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang

 

Brief Description

Seat of supreme power for over five centuries (1416-1911), the Forbidden City in Beijing, with its landscaped gardens and many buildings (whose nearly 10,000 rooms contain furniture and works of art), constitutes a priceless testimony to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties. The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shenyang consists of 114 buildings constructed between 1625–26 and 1783. It contains an important library and testifies to the foundation of the last dynasty that ruled China, before it expanded its power to the centre of the country and moved the capital to Beijing. This palace then became auxiliary to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. This remarkable architectural edifice offers important historical testimony to the history of the Qing Dynasty and to the cultural traditions of the Manchu and other tribes in the north of China.

  China
N41 47 39 E123 26 49
Date of Inscription: 1987
Extension: 2004
Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)
Property : 13 ha
Buffer zone: 153 ha
Ref: 439bis

Source:  http://whc.unesco.org

Lake Baikal

 Brief Description

Situated in south-east Siberia, the 3.15-million-ha Lake Baikal is the oldest (25 million years) and deepest (1,700 m) lake in the world. It contains 20% of the world's total unfrozen freshwater reserve. Known as the 'Galapagos of Russia', its age and isolation have produced one of the world's richest and most unusual freshwater faunas, which is of exceptional value to evolutionary science.

Russian Federation
Irkutsk and Chita regions, Republic of Buryatia
N53 10 25 E107 39 45
Date of Inscription: 1996
Criteria: (vii)(viii)(ix)(x)
Property : 8,800,000 ha
Ref: 754

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wolong, Mt Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains

 Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries - Wolong, Mt Siguniang and Jiajin Mountains

Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, home to more than 30% of the world's pandas which are classed as highly endangered, covers 924,500 ha with seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks in the Qionglai and Jiajin Mountains. The sanctuaries constitute the largest remaining contiguous habitat of the giant panda, a relict from the paleo-tropic forests of the Tertiary Era. It is also the species' most important site for captive breeding. The sanctuaries are home to other globally endangered animals such as the red panda, the snow leopard and clouded leopard. They are among the botanically richest sites of any region in the world outside the tropical rainforests, with between 5,000 and 6,000 species of flora in over 1,000 genera.

China

Sichuan Province

N30 49 60 E103 0 0

Date of Inscription: 2006

Criteria: (x)

Property : 924,500 ha

Buffer zone: 527,100 ha

Ref: 1213

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg

 

Luther Memorials in Eisleben and Wittenberg

These places in Saxony-Anhalt are all associated with the lives of Martin Luther and his fellow-reformer Melanchthon. They include Melanchthon's house in Wittenberg, the houses in Eisleben where Luther was born in 1483 and died in 1546, his room in Wittenberg, the local church and the castle church where, on 31 October 1517, Luther posted his famous '95 Theses', which launched the Reformation and a new era in the religious and political history of the Western world.

Germany

States of Saxony-Anhalt (Sachsen-Anhalt) and Thuringia (Thüringen)

N51 51 52.992 E12 39 10.008

Date of Inscription: 1996

Criteria: (iv)(vi)

Ref: 783

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Mount Taishan

Brief Description

The sacred Mount Tai ('shan' means 'mountain') was the object of an imperial cult for nearly 2,000 years, and the artistic masterpieces found there are in perfect harmony with the natural landscape. It has always been a source of inspiration for Chinese artists and scholars and symbolizes ancient Chinese civilizations and beliefs.

China

Spanning the cities of Tai’an and Jinan in central Shandong Province with the main peak in the city of Tai’an

N36 16 0.012 E117 5 60

Date of Inscription: 1987

Criteria: (i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)

Property : 25,000 ha

Ref: 437

Source: http://whc.unesco.org

Paphos

Paphos

Paphos has been inhabited since the Neolithic period. It was a centre of the cult of Aphrodite and of pre-Hellenic fertility deities. Aphrodite's legendary birthplace was on this island, where her temple was erected by the Myceneans in the 12th century B.C. The remains of villas, palaces, theatres, fortresses and tombs mean that the site is of exceptional architectural and historic value. The mosaics of Nea Paphos are among the most beautiful in the world.

Cyprus

District of Paphos

N34 45 29.988 E32 24 20.016

Date of Inscription: 1980

Criteria: (iii)(vi)

Ref: 79

Source: http://whc.unesco.org