World Heritage Sites in China for your 2014 Travel

I bet you know Great Wall, Terracotta Army, and Potala Palace in China. But, what else do you know?

Here, I should say China is a splendid country, richly endowed with fine natural resources and many wonderful places combining scenic beauty with historical interest.

Tiananmen Square

Until April 2014, there are 45 world heritage sites in China representing the quintessence of the nation, adequately demonstrating the magnificence, beauty and vastness that attract and intoxicate people from all over the world.


Usually, the world heritages are divided into three kinds: World Natural Heritage (10), World Cultural Heritage (31) and World Natural and Cultural Heritage (Mixed: 4).

Below is the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China (By chronological order).

1.  Imperial Palaces of Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Forbidden City and Mukden Palace (Beijing & Shenyang, Cultural, 1987)

2.  Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor (Xian, Cultural, 1987)

3.  Mogao Caves (Dunhuang, Cultural, 1987)

Mogao Caves

4.  Mount Taishan (Shandong, Mixed, 1987)

5.  Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian (Beijing, Cultural, 1987)

6.  The Great Wall (Northern China, Cultural, 1987)

7.  Mount Huangshan (Huangshan City, Anhui, Mixed, 1990)

8.  Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area (Songpan County, Sichuan, Natural, 1992)

9.  Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area (Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan, Natural, 1992)

10. Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area (Zhangjiajie, Natural, 1992)

11. Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains (Hubei, Cultural, 1994)

12. Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, including the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka (Lhasa, Cultural, 1994)

Potala Palace

13. Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples in Chengde (Chengde, Hebei, Cultural, 1994)

14. Temples and Cemetery ofConfucius, and the Kong Family Mansion (Qufu, Shandong, Cultural, 1994)

15. Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area (Emeishan & Leshan City, Sichuan, Mixed, 1996)

Golden Summit of Mount Emei

16. Lushan National Park (Lushan, Jiangxi, Cultural, 1996)

17. Ancient City of Pingyao (Pingyao, Shanxi, Cultual, 1997)

18. Classic Gardens of Suzhou (Suzhou, Jiangsu, Cultural, 1997)

19. Old Town of Lijiang (Lijiang, Yunnan, Cultural, 1997)

20. Summer Palace (Beijing, Cultural, 1998)

Summer Palace

21. Temple of Heaven (Beijing, Cultural, 1998)

22.  Dazu Rock Carvings (Dazu, Chongqing, Cultural, 1999)

23.  Mount Wuyi (Northwestern Fujian, Mixed, 1999)

24.  Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun (Anhui, Cultural, 2000)

25.  Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Ming Dynasty Tombs and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum (Beijing & Nanjing, Cultural, 2000)

26.  Longmen Grottoes (Luoyang, Cultural, 2000)

27.  Mont Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System (Dujiangyan, Sichuan, Cultural, 2000)

28. Yungang Grottoes (Datong, Shanxi, Cultural, 2001)

29. Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas (Yunnan, Natural, 2003)

30.  Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom (Ji’an Jilin, 2004)

31.  Historic Center of Macau (Macau, 2005)

32.  Yinxu (Anyang, Henan, Cultural, 2006)

33.  Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries (Sichuan, 2006)

34.  Kaiping Diaolou and Villages (Kaiping, Guangdong, 2007)

35.  South China Karst (Yunnan, Guizhou and Chongqing, 2007)

36.  Fujian Tulou including Nanjing Tulou and Yongding Tulou (Fujian, Cultural, 2008)

Fujian Tulou

37.  Mount Sanqingshan National Park (Jiangxi, Natural, 2008)

38.  Mount Wutai (Shanxi, Cultural, 2009)

39.  Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Center of Heaven and Earth" (Henan, Cultural, 2010)

40.  China Danxia (Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang and Guizhou, Natural, 2010)

41. West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou (Hangzhou, Cultural, 2011)

West Lake in Hangzhou

42.  Site of Xanadu (Xilinggol, Inner Mongolia, Cultural, 2012)

43.  Chengjiang Fossil Site (Yunnan, Natural, 2012)

44.  Xijiang Tianshan (Xinjiang, Natural, 2013)

45.  Cultural Landscape of HongheHani Rice Rerrace (Yuanyang County, Yunnan, Cultural, 2013)

Yuanyang Rice Terrace