52 World Heritage sites in China

[Photo by Jia Yue for Chinadaily.com.cn]

22 Mountain Resort and its outlying temples, Chengde

In terms of the general layout, architectural styles, construction techniques, decoration details and garden landscape, the Mountain Resort, built between 1703 and 1792, represents the broad exchange and convergence between Han culture and the ethnic cultures – Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism – and the architectural styles between China’s north and south. The Mountain Resort was added to the list on December 15, 1994.

[Photo by Wang Hongyu/For China Daily]

23 Old Town of Lijiang

The Old Town of Lijiang, located in the Lijiang autonomous county of Yunnan province, is one of the last surviving ancient towns in China. The architecture of the Old Town of Lijiang is noteworthy for the blending of elements from several cultures, and its ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity still functions effectively today. The Old Town of Lijiang was added to the list in December, 1997.

[Photo/China.org.cn]

24 Peking Man site at Zhoukoudian

The Peking Man site was first excavated in 1927, in a cave on the Dragon Bone Hill at Zhoukoudian, southwest of Beijing. In 1929, skull fossils of the Peking Man were discovered, and provided concrete evidence for the existence of the primitive man in the Beijing area and marking a milestone in the history of paleo-anthropology. The Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian was added to the list in December, 1987.

[Photo/IC]

25 Silk Roads

The Silk Roads were an ancient network of trade routes which formed between the second century BC and 1st century AD, and remained in use until the 16th century. The network was for centuries central to cultural interaction originally through regions of Eurasia, connecting the East and West, and stretched from the Korean peninsula and Japan to the Mediterranean Sea. The Silk Roads were added to the list on June 22, 2014.

[Photo/Xinhua]

26 Site of Xanadu

The site of Xanadu was the capital of Kublai Khan's Yuan Dynasty in China, located north of the Great Wall. It was an attempt to assimilate the nomadic Mongolian and Han Chinese cultures, and preserves the remains of the city, including temples, palaces, tombs, nomadic encampments and the Tiefangang Canal, along with other waterworks. The site of Xanadu was added to the list on June 29, 2012.

[Photo by Sun Jun/Asianewsphoto]

27 Summer Palace, an imperial garden in Beijing

The Summer Palace, originally named Qingyi Yuan, or the Garden of Clear Ripples, was an imperial garden constructed in 1750 by Emperor Qianlong in a bid to celebrate his mother’s birthday. During the past few centuries, emperors and empresses spend their leisure time in the location, which is of great aesthetic value. The Summer Palace was added to the list in November, 1998.

[Photo by Lyu Weifeng/Asianewsphoto]

28 Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu

Located in Qufu, Shandong province, these three Confucian sites were built in 478 BC to commemorate Confucius, a great philosopher, politician and educator of China. The Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu has maintained its artistic and historic character. It was added to the list in December, 1994.