List of World Heritage Sites in China


This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China. China has 55, ranking top in the world along with Italy. China ratified The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on 12 December 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 55 World Heritage Sites to date; of these 37 are cultural heritage sites, 14 are natural heritage sites, and 4 are cultural and natural sites, ranking first in the world.
In addition, there are also several Chinese documents inscribed in UNESCO's list Memory of the World, which registers the world's documentary heritage. Furthermore, 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.

Map

Following is a map of the World Heritage Sites in China.
Numbered sites around Beijing: 1. Great Wall; 2. Forbidden City; 3. Zhoukoudian; 4. Summer Palace; 5. Temple of Heaven; 6. Ming tombs; 7. Eastern Qing Tombs; 8. Western Qing Tombs
Legend: Cultural Heritage site; Natural Heritage site; Mixed site

World Heritage Sites

SiteImageLocationYear listedUNESCO dataDescription
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Forbidden City and Mukden Palace*Beijing and Shenyang, Liaoning 1987, 2004I, II, III, IV
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor *Xi'an, Shaanxi1987I, III, IV, VI
Mogao Caves *Dunhuang, Gansu1987I, II, III, IV, V, VI
Mount Tai *†Tai'an, Shandong1987I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII
Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian *Beijing1987III, VI
The Great Wall*Northern China1987I, II, III, IV, VI
Mount Huangshan *†Huangshan City, Anhui1990II, VII, X
Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area †Songpan County, Sichuan1992VII
Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area †Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan1992VII
Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area †Zhangjiajie, Hunan1992VII
Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, including the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka *Lhasa, Tibet1994, 2000, 2001I, IV, VI
Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains *Hubei1994I, II, VI
Chengde Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples in Chengde *Chengde, Hebei1994II, IV
Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu *Qufu, Shandong1994I, IV, VI
Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area *†Emeishan City and Leshan, Sichuan1996IV, VI, X
Lushan National Park *Lushan District, Jiangxi1996II, III, IV, VI
Ancient City of Pingyao *Pingyao County, Shanxi1997II, III, IV
Classical Gardens of Suzhou *Suzhou, Jiangsu1997, 2000I, II, III, IV, V
Old Town of Lijiang *Lijiang, Yunnan1997II, IV, V
Summer Palace *Beijing1998I, II, III
Temple of Heaven *Beijing1998I, II, III
Dazu Rock Carvings *Dazu District, Chongqing1999I, II, III
Mount Wuyi *†Fujian, Jiangxi1999III, VI, VII, X
Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun *Yi County, Anhui2000III, IV, V
Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Ming tombs and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum *Beijing and Nanjing, Jiangsu2000, 2003, 2004III, IV, V
Longmen Grottoes *Luoyang, Henan2000I, II, III
Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System *Dujiangyan City, Sichuan2000II, IV, VI
Yungang Grottoes *Datong, Shanxi2001I, II, III, IV
Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas †Yunnan2003VII, VIII, IX, X
Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom *Ji'an, Jilin2004I, II, III, IV, V
Historic Centre of Macau *Macau2005II, III, IV, VI
Yinxu *Anyang, Henan2006II, III, IV, VI
Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries †Sichuan2006X
Kaiping Diaolou and Villages *Kaiping, Guangdong2007II, III, IV
South China Karst †Yunnan, Guizhou, Chongqing and Guangxi2007, 2014VII, VIII
Fujian Tulou *Fujian2008III, IV, V
Sanqingshan †Yushan County, Jiangxi2008VII
Mount Wutai *Wutai County, Shanxi2009II, III, IV, VI
Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth” *Dengfeng, Henan2010III, VI
China Danxia †Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Guizhou2010VII, VIII, IX, X
West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou *Hangzhou, Zhejiang2011II, III, VI
Site of Xanadu *Zhenglan Banner, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia2012II, III, IV, VI
Chengjiang Fossil Site †Chengjiang County, Yunnan2012VIII
Xinjiang Tianshan †Xinjiang2013VII, IX
Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces *Yuanyang County, Yunnan2013III, V
*Luoyang, Lingbao of Henan; Xi'an, Bin County and Chenggu of Shaanxi; Tianshui, Yongjing, Dunhuang and Anxi of Gansu; Turpan, Jimsar and Kuqa of Xinjiang2014II, III, IV, VI
Grand Canal *Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Henan2014I, III, IV, VI
Tusi Sites *Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou2015II, III
Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape *Guangxi2016III, VI
Hubei Shennongjia †Hubei2016IX, X
Qinghai Hoh Xil †Qinghai2017VII, X
Kulangsu: a Historic International Settlement *Xiamen, Fujian2017II, IV
Fanjingshan †Tongren, Guizhou2018X
Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City *Hangzhou and Deqing County, Zhejiang2019III, IV
Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China †Yancheng, Jiangsu2019X

Tentative list

There are the sites China has submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list.