Chinese UNESCO WHS

Almost every year China has new sites added to the UNESCO World Heritage List. This year was no exception and Xinjiang Tianshan, where the 1st of these 3 card is from, was classified as World Heritage Site. The other 2 cards are from Mount Sanqingshan National Park and Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces.

 Photo by Yu Wensheng

Tian Shan is large system of mountain ranges located in Central Asia, one of the largest mountain ranges in the world. 

Xinjiang Tianshan presents unique physical geographic features and scenically beautiful areas including spectacular snow and snowy mountains glacier-capped peaks, undisturbed forests and meadows, clear rivers and lakes and red bed canyons. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1414

This card sent by Cui Mu shows One of the lakes in the mountain, Heavenly Lake. 

Heavenly Lake is nestled high in the Mount Tianshan, 115 kilometers (71 miles) west of Urumqi in Xinjiang. The area is one of the few unspoiled places in China. The crystal water reflects the snow-topped peaks, fluffy white clouds, and blue sky. This combined with the lush spruce forest covered shores creates a truly breath-taking view. - in: http://www.chinatourguide.com/xinjiang/heavenly_lake.html

 When i went to France i've sent 2 french missing sites to Kun and in return i got 2 of my missing chinese sites. Mount Sanqingshan National Park was added to the list in 2008.

Mount Sanqingshan National Park, a 22,950 ha property located in the west of the Huyaiyu mountain range in the northeast of Jiangxi Province (in the east of central China) has been inscribed for its exceptional scenic quality, marked by the concentration of fantastically shaped pillars and peaks: 48 granite peaks and 89 granite pillars, many of which resemble human or animal silhouettes. The natural beauty of the 1,817 metre high Mount Huaiyu is further enhanced by the juxtaposition of granite features with the vegetation and particular meteorological conditions which make for an ever-changing and arresting landscape with bright halos on clouds and white rainbows. The area is subject to a combination of subtropical monsoonal and maritime influences and forms an island of temperate forest above the surrounding subtropical landscape. It also features forests and numerous waterfalls, some of them 60 metres in height, lakes and springs. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1292

The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China covers 16,603-hectares in Southern Yunnan. It is marked by spectacular terraces that cascade down the slopes of the towering Ailao Mountains to the banks of the Hong River. Over the past 1,300 years, the Hani people have developed a complex system of channels to bring water from the forested mountaintops to the terraces. They have also created an integrated farming system that involves buffalos, cattle, ducks, fish and eel and supports the production of red rice, the area’s primary crop. The inhabitants worship the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, forests and other natural phenomena including fire. They live in 82 villages situated between the mountaintop forests and the terraces. The villages feature traditional thatched “mushroom” houses. The resilient land management system of the rice terraces demonstrates extraordinary harmony between people and their environment, both visually and ecologically, based on exceptional and long-standing social and religious structures. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1111