Some new UNESCO sites I add to my collection today.
The Great Wall
UNESCO site
Date of Inscription: 1987
Country: China
In c. 220 B.C., under Qin Shi Huang, sections of earlier
fortifications were joined together to form a united defence system against
invasions from the north. Construction continued up to the Ming dynasty
(1368–1644), when the Great Wall became the world's largest military structure.
Its historic and strategic importance is matched only by its architectural
significance.
The Great Wall was continuously built from the 3rd century
BC to the 17th century AD on the northern border of the country as the great
military defence project of successive Chinese Empires, with a total length of
more than 20,000 kilometers. The Great Wall begins in the east at Shanhaiguan
in Hebei province and ends at Jiayuguan in Gansu province to the west. Its main
body consists of walls, horse tracks, watch towers, and shelters on the wall,
and includes fortresses and passes along the Wall.
The Great Wall reflects collision and exchanges between
agricultural civilizations and nomadic civilizations in ancient China. It
provides significant physical evidence of the far-sighted political strategic
thinking and mighty military and national defence forces of central empires in
ancient China, and is an outstanding example of the superb military
architecture, technology and art of ancient China. It embodies unparalleled
significance as the national symbol for safeguarding the security of the
country and its people.
Sent: 2/9/2015
Arrived: 8/10/2015
China Danxia
UNESCO site
Date of Inscription: 2010
Country: China
China Danxia is the name given in China to landscapes
developed on continental red terrigenous sedimentary beds influenced by
endogenous forces (including uplift) and exogenous forces (including weathering
and erosion). The inscribed site comprises six areas found in the sub-tropical
zone of south-west China. They are characterized by spectacular red cliffs and
a range of erosional landforms, including dramatic natural pillars, towers,
ravines, valleys and waterfalls. These rugged landscapes have helped to
conserve sub-tropical broad-leaved evergreen forests, and host many species of
flora and fauna, about 400 of which are considered rare or threatened.
China Danxia is a serial property comprising six component
parts (Chishui, Taining, Langshan, Danxiashan, Longhushan, and Jianglangshan)
found in the sub-tropical zone of south-eastern China within approximately 1700
km crescent shaped arc from Guizhou Province in the west to Zhejiang Province
in the east.
China Danxia is the name given in China to landscapes
developed on continental red terrigenous sedimentary beds influenced by
endogenous forces (including uplift) and exogenous forces (including weathering
and erosion). It is characterised by spectacular red cliffs and a range of
erosional landforms, including dramatic natural pillars, towers, ravines, valleys
and waterfalls. The process of its development is characterised by a particular
rock sequence, tectonic background, climatic conditions, erosional processes
and landforms and these processes have been presented as an interim model.
Due to the combined endogenic (tectonic uplift) and exogenic
(climatic, erosion, weathering) forces, and other factors, the Danxia landforms
have been developed in red sedimentary sequences continuously from the Neogene
until the present. The six component
parts represent the most important examples of "least eroded" to
"most eroded" Danxia landforms, providing a range of different
aspects of the phenomenon, and illustrate both the range of landforms in
relation to the forces and processes that formed them, together with a range of
associated landscapes.
Sent: 2/9/2015
Arrived:8/10/2015
Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area
UNESCO site
Date of Inscription: 1992
Country: China
Stretching over 72,000 ha in the northern part of Sichuan
Province, the jagged Jiuzhaigou valley reaches a height of more than 4,800 m,
thus comprising a series of diverse forest ecosystems. Its superb landscapes
are particularly interesting for their series of narrow conic karst land forms
and spectacular waterfalls. Some 140 bird species also inhabit the valley, as
well as a number of endangered plant and animal species, including the giant
panda and the Sichuan takin.
The Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area is a
reserve of exceptional natural beauty with spectacular jagged alpine mountains
soaring above coniferous forest around a fairyland landscape of crystal clear,
strange-coloured blue, green and purplish pools, lakes, waterfalls, limestone
terraces, caves and other beautiful features. These include a number of karst
formations; indeed the area is a "natural museum" for alpine karst
hydrology and research. Covering 72,000 ha in the northern part of Sichuan
Province, Jiuzhaigou preserves a series of important forest ecosystems
including old-growth forests which provide important habitat for numerous
threatened species of plants and animals, including the giant panda and takin.
Attaining heights of 4,752 m in the southern Minshan Mountains, Jiuzhaigou also
contains an important number of well-preserved quaternary glacial remnants with
great scenic value.
Sent: 2/9/2015
Arrived:8/10/2015
Thank so much chenzhan!
