China is haven to dozens of the world’s most beautiful sceneries and a huge storehouse for historical and cultural heritage. Its diverse geography and culture contributed much to the country’s standing as a major tourist destination. Currently, China has 33 UNESCO World Heritage Sites! Below is a list of China’s 10 Most Popular World Heritage Sites.
The Great Wall of China
With a history of over 2000 years, The Great Wall of China symbolizes the perseverance and endurance of the Chinese civilization. The world’s largest man-made architecture, the structure stretches about 8,851.8 kilometers from east to west of China. Originally built of rocks, grass, wood, and earth, the wall primarily served as defense from invading Nomadic people. In 1987, UNESCO listed The Great Wall of China, as a World Heritage site.
Terra Cotta Warriors
The Terracotta Army (soldier and horse funerary statues), is a collection of more than 8,000 terracotta sculptures said to guard Emperor Qin’s (first Emperor of China) tomb. Discovered in 1974, these terracotta warriors are scattered in three pits which dates back to 210 BC. These army figures consisted approximately 8,000 soldiers, 520 horses, 150 cavalry horses, and 130 chariots. Archeological works are ongoing on the site, where more statues have been dug up and more are still buried in the pits.
Hanging Monastery
Built over 1,400 years ago, the Hanging Monastery hangs dangerously around 50 meters on a near-vertical cliff, at the foot of Mt. Hengshan in Shanxi province. Access to the monastery is through a bridge that leads up a stone staircase. A stunning architectural marvel that seems to defy gravity, the wooden temple contains 40 pavilions and 6 main halls linked by bridges, boardwalks and corridors. Inside the monastery are 80 fine collection of statues – including statues of Confucius, Sakyamuni, Laotzu, Weituo, and the Fairy in the Three Saints Hall.
Leshan Buddha
The Leshan Giant Buddha, the world’s largest Buddha, is a colossal statue measuring about 71 meters high, about 28 meter wide and has three meter long fingers. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1996, the statue is located in Leshan City, Sichuan Province. An ancient structure that was over 1,000 years, it withstood the test of time including the devastating 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Currently, a number of Buddha’s feature specially the statue’s nose has fallen victim to acid rain from pollution coming from nearby factories.
Elephant Trunk Hill
Elephant Trunk Hill is located on the western bank of Li River of the southern side of Guilin City. Resembling a massive elephant using its trunk to gulp water from the river, it is the main attraction at the Elephant Trunk Hill Park. Other features of The Elephant Hill includes: the 14 meter, cylinder-shaped Puxian Pagoda; Water Moon Cave, a round cave resembling a full moon floating on the water; the two-meter tall Elephant’s Eye cave; Yunfeng Temple – known for its historical and cultural relics; Osmanthus Square and Aiqing Dao (Love Island) – a lovers’ delight place.
Forbidden City
The Forbidden City, also named Palace Museum, is the world’s largest ancient palace and home of emperors for more than 500 years dating back to the Ming Dynasty. Located in Beijing, the palace covers more than 720,000 m2 and houses 980 buildings and around 10,000 rooms. It is enclosed by a 7.9 m high defense wall and a 52 m wide, 6 m deep moat. Each wall has a gate and magnificent watchtowers occupy each corner of the Imperial Palace. In 1987, UNESCO declared The Forbidden City a World Cultural Heritage Site. Visitors need to spent 4 hours to completely tour this palace.
Stone Forest
The Stone Forest located in the Lunan Yu Autonomous County, Yunnan Province, features thousands of narrow, huge, weirdly-shaped limestone rocks measuring about 30-40 meters high. The area covering about three hundred-square kilometer containing both large and small stone forests, is known to locals since 1368-1644 A.D.: The area offers other magnificent sites including Naigu Stone Forests, Large & Small Stone Forests, Naigu Stone Forests, Moon Lake, Long Lake, Fairy Lake, Qingfeng Cave, Large & Small Zhiyun Caves, and Feilong Falls.
The Lingering Garden – Suzhou
Located in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province, The Lingering Garden is a classical private garden famous for its beautiful halls and magnificent buildings that range in shapes, sizes and colors. It is divided into four major scenic areas based on the design of the buildings namely: the center, the east, the west, and the north part, with each area linked by a 700-meter long corridor. The central area is the original Lingering Garden, the eastern part is known for its odd-shaped limestone, the western part is captivating for its woody hills and the northern part is enchanting with idyllic scenes. In 1997, UNESCO listed The Lingering Garden as a World Heritage Site.
Temple of Heaven
The Temple of Heaven, is a Taoist temple complex used for prayer ceremonies for good harvest was built in 1420. The temple occupying 2.73 km² of parkland is located in central Beijing. A masterpiece of architecture, the temple’s layout and design mirrored the mystical cosmological laws. The northern side which symbolizes heaven has semi-circular design and higher than the southern side, while the northern side which symbolizes Earth is lower and shows square design. This follows the ancient Chinese belief that heaven is round and earth is square. Prominent buildings within the Temple of Heaven includes: Hall of Prayer for Good Harvest, Imperial Vault of Heaven, and The Circular Mound Altar. Other buildings of interest includes: Three Echo Stones and Echo Wall. In 1998, UNESCO listed the Temple of Heaven as a. World Heritage Site.
Potala Palace
The Potala Palace, a classic example of a magnificent Tibetan architecture, is located in Lhasa, Tibet. Covering an area of about 360,000 square meters, the palace is made up of 2 parts, the Red Palace and the White Palace. The Red Palace is dedicated to Buddhist prayer and religious study comprising several halls, libraries, chapels and galleries. Prominent structures in the Red palace includes: The Great West Hall, The Saint’s Chapel, Dharma Cave, and the Tomb of the Thirteenth Dalai Lama. The White Palace which houses The Great East Hall , the West Chamber of Sunshine, and the East Chamber of Sunshine once served as the office building and living quarters of regents. In 1994, the Potala Palace was listed by UNESCO as a World Cultural Heritage site.
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