Discover China

Yunnan province’s Chengjiang fossils site and the site of Inner Mongolia’s Yuan Dynasty Upper Capital have both made application to UNESCO to make the coveted World Heritage list in 2012. Find out what makes these sites so special in the CNTV Culture Express story Two new applications for UNESCO World Heritage list. Last year’s two applications, the Hangzhou Westlake and Five Linked Lakes in Heilongjiang province, will be reviewed at the World Heritage Conference this June.

A visit to Shenzhen has just become easier for Australians with Hainan Airlines introducing a flight between Hangzhou and Sydney via Shenzhen three times a week commencing from 19 January. To find out more read the Shenzhen Daily article New air route to Australia to open soon or for bookings visit Hainan Airlines. Hainan Airlines has also just been awarded Skytrax five-star status, officially becoming the world’s seventh five-star airline.

UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee has decided at its 34th meeting in Brazil to add the historic monuments of Dengfeng and the Danxia landform to the World Heritage list.  To find out more visit the CCTV9 Special Feature.

The historic monuments of Dengfeng are situated in and around Songshan (Mount Song) in Henan Province in central China. Songshan, known in Chinese as Zhongyue, is one of the five sacred mountains in China. The monuments consist of 13 ancient structures and sites including the Shaolin Temple and Pagoda Forest that we visited during our 2009 trip to Henan, Anhui and Zhejiang Provinces – read the story and see the pictures.

The Danxia landform consists of red sedimentary rock located across six Chinese provinces. It is characterised by spectacular 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. For some pictures see this slideshow on the Sina website (click on the photos to advance the slideshow).

For a full list of World Heritage properties in China visit the UNESCO World Heritage website. West Lake in Hangzhou city, which we also visited on our 2009 trip, is planned for nomination for World Heritage listing next year.

CRI Online, the multilanguage website of China Radio International, has launched an online event titled “2010 Chinese Cities Ranking – Top Chinese Tourist Cities”. The event provides a platform for Chinese tourist cities to present their unique charms to the world and introduces global internet users to China’s tourism, cultural and folk resources. The list includes Luoyang, Kaifeng, Huangshan and Hangzhou – great destinations that I have already visited – and many other interesting places that I have yet to see.

To cast your vote in “2010 Chinese Cities Ranking – Top Chinese Tourist Cities” visit CRI Online.