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Brugge is an outstanding example of a medieval historic settlement, which has maintained its historic fabric as this has evolved over the centuries, and where original Gothic constructions form part of the town's identity. As one of the commercial and cultural capitals of Europe, Brugge developed cultural links to different parts of the world. It is closely associated with the school of Flemish Primitive painting. The stylistic revolution represented by these works is characterised by their open plan, the diffusion of light, and the brilliant joining of the curved lines of decoration with the structure of the building.

The Neolithic flint mines at Spiennes, covering more than ha, are the largest and earliest concentration of ancient mines in Europe. They are also remarkable for the diversity of technological solutions used for extraction and for the fact that they are directly linked to a settlement of the same period. The Cathedral of Notre-Dame in Tournai was built in the first half of the 12th century.

It is especially distinguished by a Romanesque nave of extraordinary dimensions, a wealth of sculpture on its capitals and a transept topped by five towers, all precursors of the Gothic style. The choir, rebuilt in the 13th century, is in the pure Gothic style. The Plantin-Moretus Museum is a printing plant and publishing house dating from the Renaissance and Baroque periods. Situated in Antwerp, one of the three leading cities of early European printing along with Paris and Venice, it is associated with the history of the invention and spread of typography.

Its name refers to the greatest printer-publisher of the second half of the 16th century: The monument is of outstanding architectural value. It contains exhaustive evidence of the life and work of what was the most prolific printing and publishing house in Europe in the late 16th century. The building of the company, which remained in activity until , contains a large collection of old printing equipment, an extensive library, invaluable archives and works of art, among them a painting by Rubens. When banker and art collector Adolphe Stoclet commissioned this house from one of the leading architects of the Vienna Secession movement, Josef Hoffmann, in , he imposed neither aesthetic nor financial restrictions on the project.

The house and garden were completed in and their austere geometry marked a turning point in Art Nouveau, foreshadowing Art Deco and the Modern Movement in architecture. Bearing testimony to artistic renewal in European architecture, the house retains a high level of integrity, both externally and internally as it retains most of its original fixtures and furnishings. While Wallonia had hundreds of collieries, most have lost their infrastructure, while the four components of the listed site retain a high measure of integrity.

The coastal area of Belize is an outstanding natural system consisting of the largest barrier reef in the northern hemisphere, offshore atolls, several hundred sand cays, mangrove forests, coastal lagoons and estuaries. From to , 12 kings succeeded one another at the head of the powerful Kingdom of Abomey. With the exception of King Akaba, who had his own separate enclosure, they all had their palaces built within the same cob-wall area, in keeping with previous palaces as regards the use of space and materials.

The royal palaces of Abomey are a unique reminder of this vanished kingdom. This transnational extension Benin, Burkina Faso to the W National Park of Niger, inscribed in on the World Heritage List, cover a major expanse of intact Sudano-Sahelian savannah, with vegetation types including grasslands, shrub lands, wooded savannah and extensive gallery forests.

It includes the largest and most important continuum of terrestrial, semi-aquatic and aquatic ecosystems in the West African savannah belt. The property is a refuge for wildlife species that have disappeared elsewhere in West Africa or are highly threatened. It is home to the largest population of elephants in West Africa and most of the large mammals typical of the region, such as the African Manatee, cheetah, lion and leopard.

It also harbours the only viable population of lions in the region. The extraction of silver ore relied on a series of hydraulic mills. The site consists of the industrial monuments of the Cerro Rico, where water is provided by an intricate system of aqueducts and artificial lakes; the colonial town with the Casa de la Moneda; the Church of San Lorenzo; several patrician houses; and the barrios mitayos, the areas where the workers lived.

Sucre, the first capital of Bolivia, was founded by the Spanish in the first half of the 16th century. The archaeological site of Samaipata consists of two parts: The huge sculptured rock, dominating the town below, is a unique testimony to pre-Hispanic traditions and beliefs, and has no parallel anywhere in the Americas. The National Park is one of the largest 1,, ha and most intact parks in the Amazon Basin. With an altitudinal range of m to nearly 1, m, it is the site of a rich mosaic of habitat types from Cerrado savannah and forest to upland evergreen Amazonian forests. The park boasts an evolutionary history dating back over a billion years to the Precambrian period.

An estimated 4, species of flora as well as over bird species and viable populations of many globally endangered or threatened vertebrate species live in the park. The city of Tiwanaku, capital of a powerful pre-Hispanic empire that dominated a large area of the southern Andes and beyond, reached its apogee between and AD.

Its monumental remains testify to the cultural and political significance of this civilisation, which is distinct from any of the other pre-Hispanic empires of the Americas. The historic town of Mostar, spanning a deep valley of the Neretva River, developed in the 15th and 16th centuries as an Ottoman frontier town and during the Austro-Hungarian period in the 19th and 20th centuries. Mostar has long been known for its old Turkish houses and Old Bridge, Stari Most, after which it is named.

In the s conflict, however, most of the historic town and the Old Bridge, designed by the renowned architect Sinan, was destroyed. The Old Bridge was recently rebuilt and many of the edifices in the Old Town have been restored or rebuilt with the contribution of an international scientific committee established by UNESCO. The Old Bridge area, with its pre-Ottoman, eastern Ottoman, Mediterranean and western European architectural features, is an outstanding example of a multicultural urban settlement.

The reconstructed Old Bridge and Old City of Mostar is a symbol of reconciliation, international co-operation and of the coexistence of diverse cultural, ethnic and religious communities. Characteristic of the apogee of Ottoman monumental architecture and civil engineering, the bridge has 11 masonry arches with spans of 11 m to 15 m, and an access ramp at right angles with four arches on the left bank of the river.

The unique elegance of proportion and monumental nobility of the whole site bear witness to the greatness of this style of architecture. The cemeteries, which date from the 12th to 16th centuries CE, are laid out in rows, as was the common custom in Europe from the Middle Ages. They feature a wide range of decorative motifs and inscriptions that represent iconographic continuities within medieval Europe as well as locally distinctive traditions.

With one of the highest concentrations of rock art in the world, Tsodilo has been called the ''Louvre of the Desert''. Over 4, paintings are preserved in an area of only 10 km2 of the Kalahari Desert. The archaeological record of the area gives a chronological account of human activities and environmental changes over at least , years.

Local communities in this hostile environment respect Tsodilo as a place of worship frequented by ancestral spirits. This delta in north-west Botswana comprises permanent marshlands and seasonally flooded plains. It is one of the very few major interior delta systems that do not flow into a sea or ocean, with a wetland system that is almost intact.

One of the unique characteristics of the site is that the annual flooding from the River Okavango occurs during the dry season, with the result that the native plants and animals have synchronized their biological cycles with these seasonal rains and floods. It is an exceptional example of the interaction between climatic, hydrological and biological processes.

Rebuilt after being looted by the Dutch, its basic urban fabric dates from the 18th century. As the first capital of Brazil, from to , Salvador de Bahia witnessed the blending of European, African and Amerindian cultures. It was also, from , the first slave market in the New World, with slaves arriving to work on the sugar plantations. The city has managed to preserve many outstanding Renaissance buildings. A special feature of the old town are the brightly coloured houses, often decorated with fine stucco-work.

This sanctuary in Minais Gerais, south of Belo Horizonte was built in the second half of the 18th century. It consists of a church with a magnificent Rococo interior of Italian inspiration; an outdoor stairway decorated with statues of the prophets; and seven chapels illustrating the Stations of the Cross, in which the polychrome sculptures by Aleijadinho are masterpieces of a highly original, moving, expressive form of Baroque art.

It is home to many rare and endangered species of flora and fauna, among them the giant otter and the giant anteater. The clouds of spray produced by the waterfall are conducive to the growth of lush vegetation. Brasilia, a capital created ex nihilo in the centre of the country in , was a landmark in the history of town planning. The official buildings, in particular, are innovative and imaginative. Many of the numerous rock shelters in the Serra da Capivara National Park are decorated with cave paintings, some more than 25, years old. They are an outstanding testimony to one of the oldest human communities of South America.

The late 17th-century core of this historic town, founded by the French and occupied by the Dutch before coming under Portuguese rule, has preserved the original rectangular street plan in its entirety. Thanks to a period of economic stagnation in the early 20th century, an exceptional number of fine historic buildings have survived, making this an outstanding example of an Iberian colonial town.

The 25 protected areas that make up the site some , ha in total display the biological wealth and evolutionary history of the last remaining Atlantic forests. From mountains covered by dense forests, down to wetlands, coastal islands with isolated mountains and dunes, the area comprises a rich natural environment of great scenic beauty. The site contains a distinct range of species with a high level of endemism and reveals a pattern of evolution that is not only of great scientific interest but is also of importance for conservation.

Diamantina, a colonial village set like a jewel in a necklace of inhospitable rocky mountains, recalls the exploits of diamond prospectors in the 18th century and testifies to the triumph of human cultural and artistic endeavour over the environment. The site protects key threatened species, including giant arapaima fish, the Amazonian manatee, the black caiman and two species of river dolphin.

The Pantanal Conservation Area consists of a cluster of four protected areas with a total area of , ha. Located in western central Brazil at the south-west corner of the State of Mato Grosso, the site represents 1. They represent a large proportion of the island surface of the South Atlantic and their rich waters are extremely important for the breeding and feeding of tuna, shark, turtle and marine mammals.

The islands are home to the largest concentration of tropical seabirds in the Western Atlantic. Baia de Golfinhos has an exceptional population of resident dolphin and at low tide the Rocas Atoll provides a spectacular seascape of lagoons and tidal pools teeming with fish. For millennia, these sites have served as refuge for several species during periods of climate change and will be vital for maintaining the biodiversity of the Cerrado region during future climate fluctuations.

The urban layout is an example of the organic development of a mining town, adapted to the conditions of the site. Although modest, both public and private architecture form a harmonious whole, thanks to the coherent use of local materials and vernacular techniques. This monumental ensemble, together with the surrounding 18th- and 19th- century houses, creates an urban landscape which reflects the history of the town since its origin.

The Franciscan complex is an example of the typical architecture of the religious order developed in north-eastern Brazil. The site consists of an exceptional urban setting encompassing the key natural elements that have shaped and inspired the development of the city: They also include the Botanical Gardens, established in , Corcovado Mountain with its celebrated statue of Christ, and the hills around Guanabara Bay, including the extensive designed landscapes along Copacabana Bay which have contributed to the outdoor living culture of this spectacular city.

Rio de Janeiro is also recognized for the artistic inspiration it has provided to musicians, landscapers and urbanists. The buildings were designed by architect Oscar Niemeyer, in collaboration with innovative artists. The Ensemble comprises bold forms that exploit the plastic potential of concrete, while fusing architecture, landscape design, sculpture and painting into a harmonious whole.

It reflects the influence of local traditions, the Brazilian climate and natural surroundings on the principles of modern architecture. It is in the former harbour area of Rio de Janeiro in which the old stone wharf was built for the landing of enslaved Africans reaching the South American continent from onwards. An estimated , Africans arrived in South America via Valongo. It is the most important physical trace of the arrival of African slaves on the American continent. Located on the outskirts of Sofia, Boyana Church consists of three buildings. The eastern church was built in the 10th century, then enlarged at the beginning of the 13th century by Sebastocrator Kaloyan, who ordered a second two storey building to be erected next to it.

The frescoes in this second church, painted in , make it one of the most important collections of medieval paintings. The ensemble is completed by a third church, built at the beginning of the 19th century. This site is one of the most complete and perfectly preserved monuments of east European medieval art. The Madara Rider, representing the figure of a knight triumphing over a lion, is carved into a m-high cliff near the village of Madara in north-east Bulgaria. The inscriptions beside the sculpture tell of events that occurred between AD and In the valley of the Roussenski Lom River, in north east Bulgaria, a complex of rock-hewn churches, chapels, monasteries and cells developed in the vicinity of the village of Ivanovo.

This is where the first hermits had dug out their cells and churches during the 12th century. The 14th-century murals testify to the exceptional skill of the artists belonging to the Tarnovo School of painting. Discovered in , this tomb dates from the Hellenistic period, around the end of the 4th century BC. The tholos has a narrow corridor and a round burial chamber, both decorated with murals representing Thracian burial rituals and culture. Situated on a rocky peninsula on the Black Sea, the more than 3,year-old site of Nessebar was originally a Thracian settlement Menebria.

At the beginning of the 6th century BC, the city became a Greek colony. Among other monuments, the Stara Mitropolia Basilica and the fortress date from the Middle Ages, when this was one of the most important Byzantine towns on the west coast of the Black Sea. Wooden houses built in the 19th century are typical of the Black Sea architecture of the period. Spread over an area of over 27, ha, at an altitude between and m in the Pirin Mountains, southwest Bulgaria, the site comprises diverse limestone mountain landscapes with glacial lakes, waterfalls, caves and predominantly coniferous forests.

It was added to the World Heritage List in The extension now covers an area of around 40, ha in the Pirin Mountains, and overlaps with the Pirin National Park, except for two areas developed for tourism skiing. The dominant part of the extension is high mountain territory over m in altitude, and covered mostly by alpine meadows, rocky screes and summits. His ascetic dwelling and tomb became a holy site and were transformed into a monastic complex which played an important role in the spiritual and social life of medieval Bulgaria.

Destroyed by fire at the beginning of the 19th century, the complex was rebuilt between and A characteristic example of the Bulgarian Renaissance 18th—19th centuries , the monument symbolizes the awareness of a Slavic cultural identity following centuries of occupation. The Srebarna Nature Reserve is a freshwater lake adjacent to the Danube and extending over ha. It is the breeding ground of almost species of birds, many of which are rare or endangered. Some 80 other bird species migrate and seek refuge there every winter.

Among the most interesting bird species are the Dalmatian pelican, great egret, night heron, purple heron, glossy ibis and white spoonbill. Discovered in near the village of Sveshtari, this 3rd-century BC Thracian tomb reflects the fundamental structural principles of Thracian cult buildings. The tomb has a unique architectural decor, with polychrome half-human, half-plant caryatids and painted murals. The 10 female figures carved in high relief on the walls of the central chamber and the decoration of the lunette in its vault are the only examples of this type found so far in the Thracian lands.

It is a remarkable reminder of the culture of the Getes, a Thracian people who were in contact with the Hellenistic and Hyperborean worlds, according to ancient geographers. The 11,m2 property, the first to be inscribed in the country, with its imposing stone walls is the best preserved of ten fortresses in the Lobi area and is part of a larger group of stone enclosures that bear testimony to the power of the trans-Saharan gold trade.

The settlement was occupied by the Lohron or Koulango peoples, who controlled the extraction and transformation of gold in the region when it reached its apogee from the 14th to the 17th century. Much mystery surrounds this site large parts of which have yet to be excavated. The settlement seems to have been abandoned during some periods during its long history. The property which was finally deserted in the early 19th century is expected to yield much more information.

The town of Ribeira Grande, renamed Cidade Velha in the late 18th century, was the first European colonial outpost in the tropics. Located in the south of the island of Santiago, the town features some of the original street layout impressive remains including two churches, a royal fortress and Pillory Square with its ornate 16th century marble pillar. Angkor is one of the most important archaeological sites in South-East Asia.

Stretching over some km2, including forested area, Angkor Archaeological Park contains the magnificent remains of the different capitals of the Khmer Empire, from the 9th to the 15th century. Situated on the edge of a plateau that dominates the plain of Cambodia, the Temple of Preah Vihear is dedicated to Shiva. The Temple is composed of a series of sanctuaries linked by a system of pavements and staircases over an metre long axis and dates back to the first half of the 11th century AD. Nevertheless, its complex history can be traced to the 9th century, when the hermitage was founded.

This site is particularly well preserved, mainly due to its remote location. The site is exceptional for the quality of its architecture, which is adapted to the natural environment and the religious function of the temple, as well as for the exceptional quality of its carved stone ornamentation. The property comprises more than a hundred temples, ten of which are octagonal, unique specimens of their genre in South-East Asia.

Decorated sandstone elements in the site are characteristic of the pre-Angkor decorative idiom, known as the Sambor Prei Kuk Style. Some of these elements, including lintels, pediments and colonnades, are true masterpieces. The art and architecture developed here became models for other parts of the region and lay the ground for the unique Khmer style of the Angkor period. Almost completely surrounded by the Dja River, which forms a natural boundary, the reserve is especially noted for its biodiversity and a wide variety of primates.

It contains mammal species, five of which are threatened. Much of the site is unaffected by human activity and features a wide range of humid tropical forest ecosystems with rich flora and fauna, including Nile crocodiles and goliath tigerfish, a large predator. Forest clearings support herbaceous species and Sangha is home to considerable populations of forest elephants, critically endangered western lowland gorilla, and endangered chimpanzee. At the tip of the Great Northern Peninsula of the island of Newfoundland, the remains of an 11th-century Viking settlement are evidence of the first European presence in North America.

The excavated remains of wood-framed peat-turf buildings are similar to those found in Norse Greenland and Iceland.

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Located along the South Nahanni River, one of the most spectacular wild rivers in North America, this park contains deep canyons and huge waterfalls, as well as a unique limestone cave system. The park is also home to animals of the boreal forest, such as wolves, grizzly bears and caribou. Dall's sheep and mountain goats are found in the park's alpine environment. In addition to its particularly beautiful scenery, Dinosaur Provincial Park — located at the heart of the province of Alberta's badlands — contains some of the most important fossil discoveries ever made from the 'Age of Reptiles', in particular about 35 species of dinosaur, dating back some 75 million years.

These parks comprise an impressive complex of glaciers and high peaks on both sides of the border between Canada Yukon Territory and British Columbia and the United States Alaska. The spectacular natural landscapes are home to many grizzly bears, caribou and Dall's sheep. The site contains the largest non-polar icefield in the world. In south-west Alberta, the remains of marked trails and an aboriginal camp, and a tumulus where vast quantities of buffalo American Bison skeletons can still be found, are evidence of a custom practised by aboriginal peoples of the North American plains for nearly 6, years.

Using their excellent knowledge of the topography and of buffalo behaviour, they killed their prey by chasing them over a precipice; the carcasses were later carved up in the camp below.

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Remains of houses, together with carved mortuary and memorial poles, illustrate the Haida people's art and way of life. The site commemorates the living culture of the Haida people and their relationship to the land and sea, and offers a visual key to their oral traditions. Situated on the plains in the north-central region of Canada, the park which covers 44, km2 is home to North America's largest population of wild bison.

It is also the natural nesting place of the whooping crane. Another of the park's attractions is the world's largest inland delta, located at the mouth of the Peace and Athabasca rivers. The contiguous national parks of Banff, Jasper, Kootenay and Yoho, as well as the Mount Robson, Mount Assiniboine and Hamber provincial parks, studded with mountain peaks, glaciers, lakes, waterfalls, canyons and limestone caves, form a striking mountain landscape.

The Burgess Shale fossil site, well known for its fossil remains of soft-bodied marine animals, is also found there. Together with the Lower Town and its ancient districts, it forms an urban ensemble which is one of the best examples of a fortified colonial city. Situated on the west coast of the island of Newfoundland, the park provides a rare example of the process of continental drift, where deep ocean crust and the rocks of the earth's mantle lie exposed.

More recent glacial action has resulted in some spectacular scenery, with coastal lowland, alpine plateau, fjords, glacial valleys, sheer cliffs, waterfalls and many pristine lakes. Lunenburg is the best surviving example of a planned British colonial settlement in North America. Established in , it has retained its original layout and overall appearance, based on a rectangular grid pattern drawn up in the home country.

The inhabitants have managed to safeguard the city's identity throughout the centuries by preserving the wooden architecture of the houses, some of which date from the 18th century.

Situated on the border between the two countries and offering outstanding scenery, the park is exceptionally rich in plant and mammal species as well as prairie, forest, and alpine and glacial features. Dating from million years ago, the Upper Devonian Escuminac Formation represented here contains five of the six fossil fish groups associated with this period. Its significance stems from the discovery there of the highest number and best-preserved fossil specimens of the lobe-finned fishes that gave rise to the first four-legged, air-breathing terrestrial vertebrates — the tetrapods.

The Rideau Canal, a monumental early 19th-century construction covering km of the Rideau and Cataraqui rivers from Ottawa south to Kingston Harbour on Lake Ontario, was built primarily for strategic military purposes at a time when Great Britain and the United States vied for control of the region. The site, one of the first canals to be designed specifically for steam-powered vessels, also features an ensemble of fortifications.

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It is the best-preserved example of a slackwater canal in North America, demonstrating the use of this European technology on a large scale. It is the only canal dating from the great North American canal-building era of the early 19th century to remain operational along its original line with most of its structures intact. These include the remains and tracks of very early animals and the rainforest in which they lived, left in situ, intact and undisturbed.

It offers the richest assemblage known of the fossil life in these three ecosystems with 96 genera and species of fossils and 20 footprint groups. The site is listed as containing outstanding examples representing major stages in the history of Earth. The landscape is an exceptional example of the adaptation of the first European settlers to the conditions of the North American Atlantic coast. The site — marked by one of the most extreme tidal ranges in the world, averaging Red Bay, established by Basque mariners in the 16th century at the north-eastern tip of Canada on the shore of the Strait of Belle Isle is an archaeological site that provides the earliest, most complete and best preserved testimony of the European whaling tradition.

Gran Baya, as it was called by those who founded the station in s, was used as a base for coastal hunting, butchering, rendering of whale fat by heading to produce oil and storage. It became a major source of whale oil which was shipped to Europe where it was used for lighting.

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The site, which was used in the summer months, includes remains of rendering ovens, cooperages, wharves, temporary living quarters and a cemetery, together with underwater remains of vessels and whale bone deposits. The station was used for some 70 years, before the local whale population was depleted. This fossil site is located at the south-eastern tip of the island of Newfoundland, in eastern Canada. It consists of a narrow, 17 km-long strip of rugged coastal cliffs. Of deep marine origin, these cliffs date to the Ediacaran Period million years ago , representing the oldest known assemblages of large fossils anywhere.

These fossils illustrate a watershed in the history of life on earth: It forms part of the ancestral home of the Anishinaabeg, an indigenous people living from fishing, hunting and gathering. A complex network of livelihood sites, habitation sites, travel routes and ceremonial sites, often linked by waterways, embodies this tradition.

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The importance of this park derives from its wealth of flora and fauna. Its vast savannahs are home to a wide variety of species: It constitutes an exceptional natural landscape of great beauty with striking colours and shapes. Its highly saline waters only sustain algae and some microorganisms.


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The second group, Ounianga Serir, comprises fourteen lakes separated by sand dunes. Floating reeds cover almost half the surface of these lakes reducing evaporation. With their high quality freshwater, some of these lakes are home to aquatic fauna, particularly fish.

In the northeast of the country, the sandstone Ennedi Massif has been sculpted over time by water and wind erosion into a plateau featuring canyons and valleys that present a spectacular landscape marked by cliffs, natural arches and pitons. Thousands of images have been painted and carved into the rock surface of caves, canyons and shelters, presenting one of the largest ensembles of rock art in the Sahara. Rapa Nui, the indigenous name of Easter Island, bears witness to a unique cultural phenomenon.

A society of Polynesian origin that settled there c. From the 10th to the 16th century this society built shrines and erected enormous stone figures known as moai , which created an unrivalled cultural landscape that continues to fascinate people throughout the world.

They represent a tradition initiated by the Jesuit Peripatetic Mission in the 17th and 18th centuries, continued and enriched by the Franciscans during the 19th century and still prevailing today. In its natural amphitheatre-like setting, the city is characterized by a vernacular urban fabric adapted to the hillsides that are dotted with a great variety of church spires.

It contrasts with the geometrical layout utilized in the plain. Humberstone and Santa Laura works contain over former saltpeter works where workers from Chile, Peru and Bolivia lived in company towns and forged a distinctive communal pampinos culture. That culture is manifest in their rich language, creativity, and solidarity, and, above all, in their pioneering struggle for social justice, which had a profound impact on social history.

Situated in the remote Pampas, one of the driest deserts on Earth, thousands of pampinos lived and worked in this hostile environment for over 60 years, from , to process the largest deposit of saltpeter in the world, producing the fertilizer sodium nitrate that was to transform agricultural lands in North and South America, and in Europe, and produce great wealth for Chile.

Because of the vulnerability of the structures and the impact of a recent earthquake, the site was also placed on the List of World Heritage in Danger to help mobilize resources for its conservation. It is an outstanding example of the company towns that were born in many remote parts of the world from the fusion of local labour and resources from an industrialized nation, to mine and process high-value natural resources.

The town was built on a terrain too steep for wheeled vehicles around a large central staircase rising from the railway station. Along its route formal squares of irregular shape with ornamental trees and plants constituted the main public spaces or squares of the town. The buildings lining the streets are timber, often painted in vivid green, yellow, red and blue. At its peak Sewell numbered 15, inhabitants, but was largely abandoned in the s. Seat of supreme power for over five centuries , the Forbidden City in Beijing, with its landscaped gardens and many buildings whose nearly 10, rooms contain furniture and works of art , constitutes a priceless testimony to Chinese civilization during the Ming and Qing dynasties.

The Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shenyang consists of buildings constructed between —26 and It contains an important library and testifies to the foundation of the last dynasty that ruled China, before it expanded its power to the centre of the country and moved the capital to Beijing. This palace then became auxiliary to the Imperial Palace in Beijing. This remarkable architectural edifice offers important historical testimony to the history of the Qing Dynasty and to the cultural traditions of the Manchu and other tribes in the north of China.

No doubt thousands of statues still remain to be unearthed at this archaeological site, which was not discovered until The small figures are all different; with their horses, chariots and weapons, they are masterpieces of realism and also of great historical interest. Situated at a strategic point along the Silk Route, at the crossroads of trade as well as religious, cultural and intellectual influences, the cells and cave sanctuaries in Mogao are famous for their statues and wall paintings, spanning 1, years of Buddhist art. The sacred Mount Tai 'shan' means 'mountain' was the object of an imperial cult for nearly 2, years, and the artistic masterpieces found there are in perfect harmony with the natural landscape.

It has always been a source of inspiration for Chinese artists and scholars and symbolizes ancient Chinese civilizations and beliefs. Scientific work at the site, which lies 42 km south-west of Beijing, is still underway. So far, it has led to the discovery of the remains of Sinanthropus pekinensis , who lived in the Middle Pleistocene, along with various objects, and remains of Homo sapiens sapiens dating as far back as 18,—11, B.

The site is not only an exceptional reminder of the prehistorical human societies of the Asian continent, but also illustrates the process of evolution. Construction continued up to the Ming dynasty — , when the Great Wall became the world's largest military structure. Its historic and strategic importance is matched only by its architectural significance. Huangshan, known as 'the loveliest mountain of China', was acclaimed through art and literature during a good part of Chinese history e.

Today it holds the same fascination for visitors, poets, painters and photographers who come on pilgrimage to the site, which is renowned for its magnificent scenery made up of many granite peaks and rocks emerging out of a sea of clouds. Situated in the north-west of Sichaun Province, the Huanglong valley is made up of snow-capped peaks and the easternmost of all the Chinese glaciers. In addition to its mountain landscape, diverse forest ecosystems can be found, as well as spectacular limestone formations, waterfalls and hot springs. The area also has a population of endangered animals, including the giant panda and the Sichuan golden snub-nosed monkey.

Stretching over 72, ha in the northern part of Sichuan Province, the jagged Jiuzhaigou valley reaches a height of more than 4, m, thus comprising a series of diverse forest ecosystems. Its superb landscapes are particularly interesting for their series of narrow conic karst land forms and spectacular waterfalls. Some bird species also inhabit the valley, as well as a number of endangered plant and animal species, including the giant panda and the Sichuan takin. A spectacular area stretching over more than 26, ha in China's Hunan Province, the site is dominated by more than 3, narrow sandstone pillars and peaks, many over m high.

Between the peaks lie ravines and gorges with streams, pools and waterfalls, some 40 caves, and two large natural bridges. In addition to the striking beauty of the landscape, the region is also noted for the fact that it is home to a number of endangered plant and animal species. The palaces and temples which form the nucleus of this group of secular and religious buildings exemplify the architectural and artistic achievements of China's Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties. Situated in the scenic valleys and on the slopes of the Wudang mountains in Hubei Province, the site, which was built as an organized complex during the Ming dynasty 14th—17th centuries , contains Taoist buildings from as early as the 7th century.

It represents the highest standards of Chinese art and architecture over a period of nearly 1, years. The Potala Palace, winter palace of the Dalai Lama since the 7th century, symbolizes Tibetan Buddhism and its central role in the traditional administration of Tibet. The complex, comprising the White and Red Palaces with their ancillary buildings, is built on Red Mountain in the centre of Lhasa Valley, at an altitude of 3,m.

Also founded in the 7th century, the Jokhang Temple Monastery is an exceptional Buddhist religious complex. Norbulingka, the Dalai Lama's former summer palace, constructed in the 18th century, is a masterpiece of Tibetan art. The beauty and originality of the architecture of these three sites, their rich ornamentation and harmonious integration in a striking landscape, add to their historic and religious interest. The Mountain Resort the Qing dynasty's summer palace , in Hebei Province, was built between and It is a vast complex of palaces and administrative and ceremonial buildings.

Temples of various architectural styles and imperial gardens blend harmoniously into a landscape of lakes, pastureland and forests. In addition to its aesthetic interest, the Mountain Resort is a rare historic vestige of the final development of feudal society in China. The temple, cemetery and family mansion of Confucius, the great philosopher, politician and educator of the 6th—5th centuries B.

Built to commemorate him in B. The cemetery contains Confucius' tomb and the remains of more than , of his descendants. The small house of the Kong family developed into a gigantic aristocratic residence, of which buildings remain. The Qufu complex of monuments has retained its outstanding artistic and historic character due to the devotion of successive Chinese emperors over more than 2, years.

Mount Lushan, in Jiangxi, is one of the spiritual centres of Chinese civilization. Buddhist and Taoist temples, along with landmarks of Confucianism, where the most eminent masters taught, blend effortlessly into a strikingly beautiful landscape which has inspired countless artists who developed the aesthetic approach to nature found in Chinese culture. The addition of other temples turned the site into one of Buddhism's holiest sites. Over the centuries, the cultural treasures grew in number.

The most remarkable is the Giant Buddha of Leshan, carved out of a hillside in the 8th century and looking down on the confluence of three rivers. At 71 m high, it is the largest Buddha in the world. Mount Emei is also notable for its exceptionally diverse vegetation, ranging from subtropical to subalpine pine forests. Some of the trees there are more than 1, years old. Ping Yao is an exceptionally well-preserved example of a traditional Han Chinese city, founded in the 14th century. Its urban fabric shows the evolution of architectural styles and town planning in Imperial China over five centuries.

Of special interest are the imposing buildings associated with banking, for which Ping Yao was the major centre for the whole of China in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Classical Chinese garden design, which seeks to recreate natural landscapes in miniature, is nowhere better illustrated than in the nine gardens in the historic city of Suzhou.

They are generally acknowledged to be masterpieces of the genre. Dating from the 11thth century, the gardens reflect the profound metaphysical importance of natural beauty in Chinese culture in their meticulous design. The Old Town of Lijiang, which is perfectly adapted to the uneven topography of this key commercial and strategic site, has retained a historic townscape of high quality and authenticity.

Its architecture is noteworthy for the blending of elements from several cultures that have come together over many centuries. Lijiang also possesses an ancient water-supply system of great complexity and ingenuity that still functions effectively today. The Summer Palace in Beijing — first built in , largely destroyed in the war of and restored on its original foundations in — is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value.

The Temple of Heaven, founded in the first half of the 15th century, is a dignified complex of fine cult buildings set in gardens and surrounded by historic pine woods. In its overall layout and that of its individual buildings, it symbolizes the relationship between earth and heaven — the human world and God's world — which stands at the heart of Chinese cosmogony, and also the special role played by the emperors within that relationship. The steep hillsides of the Dazu area contain an exceptional series of rock carvings dating from the 9th to the 13th century.

They are remarkable for their aesthetic quality, their rich diversity of subject matter, both secular and religious, and the light that they shed on everyday life in China during this period. They provide outstanding evidence of the harmonious synthesis of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism.

Mount Wuyi is the most outstanding area for biodiversity conservation in south-east China and a refuge for a large number of ancient, relict species, many of them endemic to China. The serene beauty of the dramatic gorges of the Nine Bend River, with its numerous temples and monasteries, many now in ruins, provided the setting for the development and spread of neo-Confucianism, which has been influential in the cultures of East Asia since the 11th century. In the 1st century B.

Its massive walls enclose an archaeological site of great significance. The two traditional villages of Xidi and Hongcun preserve to a remarkable extent the appearance of non-urban settlements of a type that largely disappeared or was transformed during the last century. Their street plan, their architecture and decoration, and the integration of houses with comprehensive water systems are unique surviving examples.

It represents the addition of three Imperial Tombs of the Qing Dynasty in Liaoning to the Ming tombs inscribed in and Constructed for the founding emperors of the Qing Dynasty and their ancestors, the tombs follow the precepts of traditional Chinese geomancy and fengshui theory. They feature rich decoration of stone statues and carvings and tiles with dragon motifs, illustrating the development of the funerary architecture of the Qing Dynasty.

The three tomb complexes, and their numerous edifices, combine traditions inherited from previous dynasties and new features of Manchu civilization. The grottoes and niches of Longmen contain the largest and most impressive collection of Chinese art of the late Northern Wei and Tang Dynasties These works, entirely devoted to the Buddhist religion, represent the high point of Chinese stone carving.

Construction of the Dujiangyan irrigation system began in the 3rd century B. This system still controls the waters of the Minjiang River and distributes it to the fertile farmland of the Chengdu plains. Mount Qingcheng was the birthplace of Taoism, which is celebrated in a series of ancient temples.

The Yungang Grottoes, in Datong city, Shanxi Province, with their caves and 51, statues, represent the outstanding achievement of Buddhist cave art in China in the 5th and 6th centuries. The Five Caves created by Tan Yao, with their strict unity of layout and design, constitute a classical masterpiece of the first peak of Chinese Buddhist art. Consisting of eight geographical clusters of protected areas within the boundaries of the Three Parallel Rivers National Park, in the mountainous north-west of Yunnan Province, the 1.

The site is an epicentre of Chinese biodiversity. It is also one of the richest temperate regions of the world in terms of biodiversity. The site includes archaeological remains of three cities and 40 tombs: All belong to the Koguryo culture, named after the dynasty that ruled over parts of northern China and the northern half of the Korean Peninsula from BC to AD Wunu Mountain City is only partly excavated.

Wandu Mountain City, one of the capitals of the Koguryo Kingdom, contains many vestiges including a large palace and 37 tombs. Some of the tombs show great ingenuity in their elaborate ceilings, designed to roof wide spaces without columns and carry the heavy load of a stone or earth tumulus mound , which was placed above them. Macao, a lucrative port of strategic importance in the development of international trade, was under Portuguese administration from the midth century until , when it came under Chinese sovereignty.

With its historic street, residential, religious and public Portuguese and Chinese buildings, the historic centre of Macao provides a unique testimony to the meeting of aesthetic, cultural, architectural and technological influences from East and West. The site also contains a fortress and a lighthouse, the oldest in China. It bears witness to one of the earliest and longest-lasting encounters between China and the West, based on the vibrancy of international trade. The sanctuaries constitute the largest remaining contiguous habitat of the giant panda, a relict from the paleo-tropic forests of the Tertiary Era.

It is also the species' most important site for captive breeding. The sanctuaries are home to other globally endangered animals such as the red panda, the snow leopard and clouded leopard. They are among the botanically richest sites of any region in the world outside the tropical rainforests, with between 5, and 6, species of flora in over 1, genera. It testifies to the golden age of early Chinese culture, crafts and sciences, a time of great prosperity of the Chinese Bronze Age.

A number of royal tombs and palaces, prototypes of later Chinese architecture, have been unearthed on the site, including the Palace and Royal Ancestral Shrines Area, with more than 80 house foundations, and the only tomb of a member of the royal family of the Shang Dynasty to have remained intact, the Tomb of Fu Hao. The large number and superb craftsmanship of the burial accessories found there bear testimony to the advanced level of Shang crafts industry.

Kaiping Diaolou and Villages feature the Diaolou, multi-storeyed defensive village houses in Kaiping, which display a complex and flamboyant fusion of Chinese and Western structural and decorative forms. There are four groups of Diaolou and twenty of the most symbolic ones are inscribed on the List. These buildings take three forms: Built of stone, pise , brick or concrete, these buildings represent a complex and confident fusion between Chinese and Western architectural styles.

Retaining a harmonious relationship with the surrounding landscape, the Diaolou testify to the final flowering of local building traditions that started in the Ming period in response to local banditry. It is a serial site spread over the provinces of Guizhou, Guangxi, Yunnan and Chongqing and covers , hectares. It contains the most significant types of karst landforms, including tower karst, pinnacle karst and cone karst formations, along with other spectacular characteristics such as natural bridges, gorges and large cave systems.

The stone forests of Shilin are considered superlative natural phenomena and a world reference. The cone and tower karsts of Libo, also considered the world reference site for these types of karst, form a distinctive and beautiful landscape. Wulong Karst has been inscribed for its giant dolines sinkholes , natural bridges and caves. Fujian Tulou is a property of 46 buildings constructed between the 15th and 20th centuries over km in south-west of Fujian province, inland from the Taiwan Strait.

Set amongst rice, tea and tobacco fields the Tulou are earthen houses. Several storeys high, they are built along an inward-looking, circular or square floor plan as housing for up to people each. Please try your request again later. Christopher Dacey is an author living in Coventry, Rhode Island. All are all hard-boiled detective mysteries set during World War II. Chris holds a Master's Degree from the University of Rhode Island, and is an avid fan of pulp fiction and film noir.

He lives with his wife Suzanne and three children in Coventry, Rhode Island. Argentine Mist It's October As a tropical storm hits the City of Providence, private investigator Nicholas Chambers finds himself caught up in the search for a missing woman and gets entangled with the Providence underworld and a secretive group operating along the Rhode Island coastline. A midnight trip to a secluded house along Warwick Neck ignites the case and plunges Chambers into a mystery that tests his abilities to the limit. The mystery deepens when an eccentric art collector hires Chambers to purchase a rare Austrian clock at auction.

A beautiful French woman and a mysterious group operating on the outskirts of Providence draw Chambers deeper into the mystery, and open his eyes to an imminent threat facing his way of life. Mystery at Oceancrest Private Detective Nicholas Chambers is summoned to oceanfront estate of retired millionaire Eugene Campbell, where he is hired to investigate the death of his daughter Vera five years earlier. Chambers reluctantly takes on the case, which leads him into a seedy Chinatown underworld and culminates at Oceancrest, where a web of deception and betrayal spanning the course of two decades is finally revealed.

The Secret of Isabella Meer Private Detective Nicholas Chambers arrives in the Port of Providence and reluctantly boards the SS Santa Rosa on a simple assignment; Sail to the Netherlands aboard a luxury liner, pick up a female passenger and accompany her back to the states.

Soon an elderly woman is found dead in her cabin, another is missing, and a secret adversary aboard the ship is working against Chambers as he tries to uncover the secret of Isabella Meer. Greeted by his childhood friend Fr. Richard O'Rourke, he is taken to the church bell tower. What he is shown there plunges him into a decade old mystery, testing the limits of his detective skills, and opening his eyes to the forces of good and evil at work in the world.

Hidden Adversary When Nick's secretary is found brutally murdered in his office, he suddenly becomes the authority's number one suspect. He pledges to find her killer, but must first prove his own innocence. Nothing is what it seems to be in this case, as Chambers faces his most formidable hidden adversary Are you an author? Help us improve our Author Pages by updating your bibliography and submitting a new or current image and biography. Learn more at Author Central. Popularity Popularity Featured Price: