List of World Heritage Sites in Eastern Asia


The UNESCO has designated 99 World Heritage Sites in 5 countries of East Asia: China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea and Japan.
In this region, China is home to the most inscribed sites with number of 55. The first sites from the region were the Great Wall of China, Mount Tai, the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the Mogao Caves and the Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor, and all of them were in China. Each year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee may inscribe new sites on the list, or delist sites that no longer meet the criteria. Selection is based on ten criteria: six for cultural heritage and four for natural heritage. Some sites, designated "mixed sites," represent both cultural and natural heritage. In Eastern Asia, there are 74 cultural, 21 natural, and four mixed sites.
The World Heritage Committee may also specify that a site is endangered, citing "conditions which threaten the very characteristics for which a property was inscribed on the World Heritage List." In this region there are no sites currently listed as endangered, nor have been listed previously. Possible danger listing has been considered by UNESCO in a number of other cases.
Although a number of sites in Taiwan have been proposed, political considerations have prevented any site on the island from being listed. The United Nations considers Taiwan to be a territory of the People's Republic of China; any World Heritage Site in Taiwan would be the responsibility of the PRC, which does not have any de facto authority over the island. The PRC actively interferes with any proposal to list a site in Taiwan.

Legend

World Heritage Sites

SiteImageLocationCriteriaArea
ha 		YearDescriptionRefs
Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang MountainsCultural:
—1994
Ancient City of Ping YaoCultural:
—1997
Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and HongcunCultural:
; buffer zone 2000
Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu CityCultural:
; buffer zone 2019
Buddhist Monuments in the Horyu-ji AreaCultural:
; buffer zone 1993
Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo KingdomCultural:
; buffer zone 2004
Changdeokgung Palace ComplexCultural:
—1997
Chengjiang Fossil SiteNatural:
; buffer zone 2012
China DanxiaNatural:
; buffer zone 2010
Classical Gardens of SuzhouCultural:
; buffer zone 1997
Complex of Koguryo TombsCultural:
; buffer zone 2004
Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice TerracesCultural:
; buffer zone 2013
Dazu Rock CarvingsCultural:
; buffer zone 1999
FanjingshanNatural:
; buffer zone 2018
Fujian TulouCultural:
; buffer zone 2008
Fujisan, sacred place and source of artistic inspirationCultural:
; buffer zone 2013
Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa Dolmen SitesCultural:
; buffer zone 2000
Gusuku Sites and Related Properties of the Kingdom of RyukyuCultural:
; buffer zone 2000
Gyeongju Historic AreasCultural:
; buffer zone 2000
Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana WoodblocksCultural:
—1995
Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki RegionCultural:
; buffer zone 2018
Himeji-joCultural:
; buffer zone 1993
Hiraizumi – Temples, Gardens and Archaeological Sites Representing the Buddhist Pure LandCultural:
; buffer zone 2011
Hiroshima Peace Memorial Cultural:
; buffer zone 1996
Historic Centre of MacaoCultural:
; buffer zone 2005
Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, LhasaCultural:
; buffer zone 1994

Historic Monuments and Sites in KaesongCultural:
; buffer zone 2013
Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto Cultural:
; buffer zone 1994
Historic Monuments of Ancient NaraCultural:
; buffer zone 1998
Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth”Cultural:
; buffer zone 2010
Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and YangdongCultural:
; buffer zone 2010
Historic Villages of Shirakawa-go and GokayamaCultural:
; buffer zone 1995
Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest AreaNatural:
1992
Hwaseong FortressCultural:
—1997
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and ShenyangCultural:
; buffer zone 1987
Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing DynastiesCultural:
; buffer zone 2000

Itsukushima Shinto ShrineCultural:
; buffer zone 1996
Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural LandscapeCultural:
; buffer zone 2007
Jeju Volcanic Island and Lava TubesNatural:
; buffer zone 2007
Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest AreaNatural:
1992
Jongmyo ShrineCultural:
1995
Kaiping Diaolou and VillagesCultural:
; buffer zone 2007
Longmen GrottoesCultural:
; buffer zone 2000
Lushan National ParkCultural:
—1996
Mausoleum of the First Qin EmperorCultural:
—1987
Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea–Bohai Gulf of China Natural:
; buffer zone 2019
Mogao CavesCultural:
—1987
Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples, ChengdeCultural:
—1994
Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic AreaMixed:
1996
Mount HuangshanMixed:
1990
Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation SystemCultural:
—2000
Mount Sanqingshan National ParkNatural:
; buffer zone 2008
Mount TaishanMixed:
1987
Mount WutaiCultural:
; buffer zone 2009
Mount WuyiMixed:
; buffer zone 1999
Mozu-Furuichi Kofun GroupCultural:
; buffer zone 2019
Ogasawara IslandsNatural:
2011
Old Town of LijiangCultural:
—1997
Orkhon Valley Cultural LandscapeCultural:
; buffer zone 2004
Peking Man Site at ZhoukoudianCultural:
—1987
Petroglyphic Complexes of the Mongolian Altai—Cultural:
; buffer zone 2011
Royal Tombs of the Joseon DynastyCultural:
; buffer zone 2009
Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes in the Kii Mountain RangeCultural:
; buffer zone 2004
Sansa, Buddhist Mountain Monasteries in KoreaCultural:
; buffer zone 2018
Seokguram Grotto and Bulguksa TempleCultural:
—1995
Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian AcademiesCultural:
; buffer zone 2019
Shirakami-SanchiNatural:
1993
ShiretokoNatural:
2005
Shrines and Temples of NikkoCultural:
; buffer zone 1999
Sichuan Giant Panda SanctuariesNatural:
; buffer zone 2006
Cultural:
; buffer zone 2014
Site of XanaduCultural:
; buffer zone 2012
South China KarstNatural:
; buffer zone 2007
Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in BeijingCultural:
—1998
Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in QufuCultural:
—1994
Cultural:
—1998
The Great WallCultural:
—1987
Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected AreasNatural:
—2003
Uvs Nuur BasinNatural:
; buffer zone 2003
West Lake Cultural Landscape of HangzhouCultural:
; buffer zone 2011
Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest AreaNatural:
1992
Xinjiang TianshanNatural:
2013
YakushimaNatural:
1993
Yin XuCultural:
; buffer zone 2006
Yungang GrottoesCultural:
; buffer zone 2001

Performance of East Asia in UNESCO

The performance of Southeast Asia is contrasted by the performance of South and East Asia. Eastern Asian countries are noted with 'EA'.


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