List of World Heritage Sites in China - Overview

Overview

Since joining the International Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, China has 43 world heritage sites to date; of these 30 are cultural heritage sites, nine are natural heritage sites, and four are cultural and natural (mixed) sites, ranking third in the world. Since 2004, China has made the first large-scale renovations on six world cultural heritage sites in Beijing - the Ming Tombs, the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace, and the "Peking Man" site at Zhoukoudian, all of which are planned for completion before 2008. In addition, 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.