Discover China

The countdown continues for the 16th Asian Games in Guangzhou in China’s Guangdong Province, with just 100 days to go. Visit the CCTV9 website to find out about the ceremony marking the 100 day countdown and the final touches for games preparation. The vision of the 16th Asian Games is  “Thrilling Games, Harmonious Asia” – to find out more visit the 16th Asian Games website.

On Monday at UNESCO’s 34th meeting in Brazil, UNESCO spoke highly of China’s efforts in protecting the world’s natural and cultural heritage. “China has a great amount of precious heritage and a powerful government system to protect these heritages”, Kristal Buckley, an official of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), the organization that evaluates cultural relics for the UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee (WHC), told a news conference. Read more on the CCTV9 website.

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.

113 million people have been affected by severe flooding across China over the past few months, especially those living along the Yangtze River. The State Flood Control authorities say 27 provinces and municipalities have been affected. 8 million people have been forced to leave their homes. Floods have inundated 7 million hectares of farmland. Direct economic losses total more than 140 billion yuan. Since the beginning of April, when the flood season started, more than 230 rivers have passed warning levels. Read more in this CCTV9 Special Feature.

Some areas along the Yangtze River have experienced the worst flooding in 30 years, where the Three Gorges Dam, the country’s largest, is offering a buffer as it blocks more than 40 percent of upstream water. “Compared to 1998, the biggest difference is the Three Gorges Dam. Without it, thousands of soldiers and rescuers would have been needed to fight the floods,” said Yuan Jie, director of the Three Gorges Cascade Dispatching Center of China Three Gorges Cooperation. To find out how the Three Gorges Dam helps to alleviate the devastating Yangtze River floods read the summary article or watch the full video of the State Council press conference on floods.

Hopefully the rains can ease soon and bring relief to the many people who have been affected.

Daming Palace, located in the center of Xi’an, Shaanxi province, was once the center of politics, economics and culture during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907) and has witnessed ups and downs for centuries. Its replica, Daming Palace Pavilion, is standing at the Urban Best Practices Area at the Shanghai World Expo. The renovation of Daming Palace National Heritage Park was listed among the key projects of the Eleventh Five Year Plan. Daming Palace National Heritage Park, once reconstructed, will cover 19.16 square kilometers. The construction of Xi’an Daming Palace National Heritage Site Park will be completed and open to the public on National Day 1 October 2010. Read more in this China Daily Feature.