Discover China

Songshan is considered to be the central sacred mountain of China. At the foot of this 1500 metre high mountain, close to the city of Dengfeng in Henan province and spread over a 40 square-kilometre circle, stand eight clusters of buildings and sites. These buildings are reflections of different ways of perceiving the centre of heaven and earth and the power of the mountain as a centre for religious devotion. Find out more about this amazing World Heritage listed location by watching the online videos of the CNTV Journeys in Time six-part Series: Mount Songshan.

I enjoyed a visit to the Songshan Shaolin Temple and its ancient pagoda forest as part of my travels through Anhui, Henan and Zhejiang provinces in 2009 (see story and pictures).

Surrounded by mountains that reach into the heavens and rivers that flow through mist-shrouded valleys, ancient Chinese artists’ efforts to capture the beauty of their homeland culminated in the masterpieces that many today know as Chinese landscape painting. For fans of these works of art who also want to experience the beauty of nature for themselves, East China’s Jiangxi province offers a range of mountains, rivers and waterways that bring an important part of the Chinese aesthetic to life.

The China Daily article On high ground profiles three of Jiangxi’s natural attractions that have been given UNESCO World Heritage listing for their natural beauty and cultural significance – Lushan National Park, Mount Sanqingshan National Park and Mount Longhu.

The renowned world heritage site Mogao Grottoes in northwest China’s Gansu province has reported record high visitor numbers for 2011. One of the country’s three major Buddhist art treasures, the Mogao Grottoes in Dunhuang received 680,000 tourists in 2011, up 23.6 percent from 550,000 in 2010. The 1,600-year-old Mogao Grottoes, or the Ancient Caves of 1,000 Buddhas, became China’s first UNESCO World Heritage site in 1987. It has more than 2,000 colored sculptures and 45,000 square meters of frescoes in over 700 caves spread across about 1,600 meters along a hill. Find out more in the CNTV Travel story World heritage Mogao Grottoes receives record visitors in 2011.

Hangzhou’s famous West Lake gained World Heritage listing at a UNESCO meeting in Paris. Find out more in the CNTV News story West Lake Cultural Landscape inscribed on World Heritage List.

Kishore Rao, director of the World Heritage Center of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has praised China’s efforts in supporting world heritage protection – read more in the China Daily article UNESCO praises China for protecting world heritage.