This is a list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites in China. China has 56, ranking second in the world just below Italy (58). China ratified The Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on 12 December 1985. These sites comprise some of the most essential part of China's valuable and rich tourism resources.

Overview

Since joining the International Convention Concerning the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage in 1985, China has 56 World Heritage Sites to date; of these 38 are cultural heritage sites, 14 are natural heritage sites, and 4 are cultural and natural (mixed) sites, ranking second in the world.^[1]

In addition, there are also several Chinese documents inscribed in UNESCO's list Memory of the World, which registers the world's documentary heritage. Furthermore, 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.

Map

Following is a map of the World Heritage Sites in China.

Numbered sites around Beijing: 1. Great Wall; 2. Forbidden City; 3. Zhoukoudian; 4. Summer Palace; 5. Temple of Heaven; 6. Ming tombs; 7. Eastern Qing Tombs; 8. Western Qing Tombs

Legend: Cultural Heritage site; Natural Heritage site; Mixed site

Mount Tai

2

Mukden Palace

Mogao Caves

Qin mausoleum

3

1

Huangshan

Jiuzhaigou

Huanglong

Wulingyuan

Chengde

Wudang

Qufu

Potala

Lushan

Emei and Leshan

Lijiang

Pingyao

Suzhou

4

5

Dazu

Wuyi

Qingcheng and Dujiangyan

Xidi and Hongcun

Longmen

Xianling

7

8

6

Xiaoling

Fuling, Zhaoling and Yongling

Yungang

Three Parallel Rivers

Macau

Koguryo royal tombs

Panda Sanctuaries

Yinxu

Stone Forest

Libo

Wulong

Guilin

Shibing

Jinfoshan

Huanjiang

Diaolou

Tulou

Sanqingshan

Wutaishan

Dengfeng

Chishui

Langshan

Taining

Danxia

Longhu

Jianglang

West Lake

Xanadu

Chengjiang

Tian Shan

Honghe

Laosicheng

Tangya

Hailongtun

Huashan

Shennongjia

Hoh Xil

Kulangsu

Fanjingshan

Liangzhu

Yancheng

Quanzhou

World Heritage Sites

* = World Cultural Heritage Site

† = World Natural Heritage Site

*† = World Cultural and Natural Heritage Site (Mixed)

Site	Image	Location	Year listed	UNESCO data	Description
Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Forbidden City and Mukden Palace*		Beijing (Forbidden City) and Shenyang, Liaoning (Mukden Palace)	1987, 2004	I, II, III, IV	439
Mausoleum of the First Qin Emperor *		Xi'an, Shaanxi	1987	I, III, IV, VI	441
Mogao Caves *		Dunhuang, Gansu	1987	I, II, III, IV, V, VI	440
Mount Tai *†		Tai'an, Shandong	1987	I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII	437
Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian *		Beijing	1987	III, VI	449
The Great Wall*		Northern China	1987	I, II, III, IV, VI	438
Mount Huangshan *†		Huangshan City, Anhui	1990	II, VII, X	547
Huanglong Scenic and Historic Interest Area †		Songpan County, Sichuan	1992	VII	638
Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area †		Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan	1992	VII	637
Wulingyuan Scenic and Historic Interest Area †		Zhangjiajie, Hunan	1992	VII	640
Historic Ensemble of the Potala Palace, including the Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka *		Lhasa, Tibet	1994, 2000, 2001	I, IV, VI	707
Ancient Building Complex in the Wudang Mountains *		Hubei	1994	I, II, VI	705
Chengde Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples in Chengde *		Chengde, Hebei	1994	II, IV	703
Temple and Cemetery of Confucius and the Kong Family Mansion in Qufu *		Qufu, Shandong	1994	I, IV, VI	704
Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area *†		Emeishan City (Mt. Emei) and Leshan (Giant Buddha), Sichuan	1996	IV, VI, X	779
Mountain Lu National Park *†		Jiujiang, Jiangxi	1996	II, III, IV, VI	778
Ancient City of Pingyao *		Pingyao County, Shanxi	1997	II, III, IV	812
Classical Gardens of Suzhou *		Suzhou, Jiangsu	1997, 2000	I, II, III, IV, V	813
Old Town of Lijiang *		Lijiang, Yunnan	1997	II, IV, V	811
Summer Palace *		Beijing	1998	I, II, III	880
Temple of Heaven *		Beijing	1998	I, II, III	881
Dazu Rock Carvings *		Dazu District, Chongqing	1999	I, II, III	912
Mount Wuyi *†		Fujian, Jiangxi	1999	III, VI, VII, X	911
Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui – Xidi and Hongcun *		Yi County, Anhui	2000	III, IV, V	1002
Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, including the Ming tombs and the Ming Xiaoling Mausoleum *		Beijing and Nanjing, Jiangsu	2000, 2003, 2004	III, IV, V	1004
Longmen Grottoes *		Luoyang, Henan	2000	I, II, III	1003
Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System *		Dujiangyan City, Sichuan	2000	II, IV, VI	1001
Yungang Grottoes *		Datong, Shanxi	2001	I, II, III, IV	1039
Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas †		Yunnan	2003	VII, VIII, IX, X	1083
Capital Cities and Tombs of the Ancient Koguryo Kingdom *		Ji'an, Jilin	2004	I, II, III, IV, V	1135
Historic Centre of Macau *		Macau	2005	II, III, IV, VI	1110
Yinxu *		Anyang, Henan	2006	II, III, IV, VI	1114
Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries †		Sichuan	2006	X	1213
Kaiping Diaolou and Villages *		Kaiping, Guangdong	2007	II, III, IV	1112
South China Karst †		Yunnan, Guizhou, Chongqing and Guangxi	2007, 2014	VII, VIII	1248
Fujian Tulou *		Fujian	2008	III, IV, V	1113
Sanqingshan †		Yushan County, Jiangxi	2008	VII	1292
Mount Wutai *		Wutai County, Shanxi	2009	II, III, IV, VI	1279
Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in “The Centre of Heaven and Earth” *		Dengfeng, Henan	2010	III, VI	1305
China Danxia †		Hunan, Guangdong, Fujian, Jiangxi, Zhejiang, and Guizhou	2010	VII, VIII, IX, X	1335
West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou *		Hangzhou, Zhejiang	2011	II, III, VI	1334
Site of Xanadu *		Zhenglan Banner, Xilingol League, Inner Mongolia	2012	II, III, IV, VI	1389
Chengjiang Fossil Site †		Chengjiang County, Yunnan	2012	VIII	1388
Xinjiang Tianshan †		Xinjiang	2013	VII, IX	1414
Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces *		Yuanyang County, Yunnan	2013	III, V	1111
Silk Roads: the Routes Network of Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor *		Luoyang, Lingbao of Henan; Xi'an, Bin County and Chenggu of Shaanxi; Tianshui, Yongjing, Dunhuang and Anxi of Gansu; Turpan, Jimsar and Kuqa of Xinjiang	2014	II, III, IV, VI	1442
Grand Canal *		Beijing, Tianjin, Hebei, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui and Henan	2014	I, III, IV, VI	1443
Tusi Sites *		Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou	2015	II, III	1474
Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape *		Guangxi	2016	III, VI	1508
Hubei Shennongjia †		Hubei	2016	IX, X	1509
Qinghai Hoh Xil †		Qinghai	2017	VII, X	1540
Kulangsu: a Historic International Settlement *		Xiamen, Fujian	2017	II, IV	1541
Fanjingshan †		Tongren, Guizhou	2018	X	1559
Archaeological Ruins of Liangzhu City *		Hangzhou and Deqing County, Zhejiang	2019	III, IV	1592
Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase I) †		Yancheng, Jiangsu	2019	X	1606
Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China [zh]		Quanzhou, Fujian	2021	IV	1561

Tentative list

There are the sites China has submitted to the UNESCO World Heritage tentative list.^[2]

• Dongzhai Port Nature Reserve (1996)
• The Alligator Sinensis Nature Reserve (1996)
• Poyang Nature Reserve (1996)
• The Lijiang River Scenic Zone at Guilin (1996)
• Yalong, Tibet (2001)
• Yangtze Gorges Scenic Spot (2001)
• Jinfushan Scenic Spot (2001)
• Heaven Pit and Ground Seam Scenic Spot (2001)
• Hua Shan Scenic Area (2001)
• Yandang Mountains (2001)
• Nanxi River (2001)
• Maijishan Scenic Spots (2001)
• Wudalianchi Scenic Spots (2001)
• Haitan Scenic Spots (2001)
• Dali Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake Scenic Spot (2001)
• Sites for Liquor Making in China (2008)
• Ancient Residences in Shanxi and Shaanxi Provinces (2008)
• City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2008)
• Slender West Lake and Historic Urban Area in Yangzhou (2008)
• Ancient Water Towns South of the Yangtze River (Zhouzhuang, Luzhi, Wuzhen, and Xitang) (2008)
• Fenghuang Ancient City (2008)
• Sites of the Southern Yue State (2008)
• Baiheliang Ancient Hydrological Inscription (2008)
• Miao Nationality Villages in Southeast Guizhou Province: The villages of Miao Nationality at the Foot of Leigong Mountain in Miao Ling Mountains (2008)
• Karez Wells (2008)
• Expansion Project of Imperial Tombs of the Ming and Qing Dynasties: King Lujian’s Tombs (2008)
• The Four Sacred Mountains as an extension of Mt. Taishan (2008)
• Taklimakan Desert–Populus euphratica Forests (2010)
• China Altay (2010)
• Karakorum–Pamir (2010)
• The Central Axis of Beijing (including Beihai) (2013)
• Wooden Structures of Liao Dynasty – Wooden Pagoda of Yingxian County, Main Hall of Fengguo Monastery of Yixian County (2013)
• Sites of the Hongshan Culture: Niuheliang, Hongshanhou, and Weijiawopu (2013)
• Ancient Porcelain Kiln Site in China (2013)
• Sanfang Qixiang (2013)
• Ancient Tea Plantations of Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er (2013)
• Western Xia Imperial Tombs (2013)
• Dong Villages (2013)
• Lingqu Canal (2013)
• Diaolou Buildings and Villages for Tibetan and Qiang Ethnic Groups (2013)
• Archaeological Sites of the Ancient Shu State: Jinsha site and Joint Tombs of Boat-shaped Coffins in Chengdu, Sichuan; Sanxingdui site in Guanghan, 29th – 5th century BC (2013)
• Xinjiang Yardang (2015)
• Dunhuang Yardangs (2015)
• Tianzhushan (2015)
• Jinggangshan–North Wuyishan (extension of Mount Wuyi) (2015)
• Shudao (2015)
• Tulin–Guge Scenic and Historic Interest Areas (2015)
• (2016)
• The Chinese Section of the Silk Roads (2016)
• Guancen Mountain – Luya Mountain (2017)
• Hulun Buir Landscape and Birthplace of Ancient Minority (2017)
• Qinghai Lake (2017)
• Scenic and historic area of Sacred Mountains and Lakes (Gang Rinpoche, Naimona'nyi, Lake Manasarovar and Lhanag-tso) (2017)
• Taihang Mountain (2017)
• Vertical Vegetation Landscape and Volcanic Landscape in Changbai Mountain (2017)
• Badain Jaran Desert—Towers of Sand and Lakes (2019)
• Guizhou Triassic Fossil Sites (2019)
• Huangguoshu Scenic Area (2019)

Performance of China in UNESCO