China’s Shennongjia Forestry District in Central China’s Hubei province was added to the World Heritage List as a natural site on July 17， 2016 bringing the total number of China"s world heritage sites to 50， second only to Italy in the whole world.
China became a state party of the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage on Dec. 12， 1985.
For the past three decades， China has spared no effort in making its contributions to world heritage.
Beijing tops the city level with the most cultural sites in the World Heritage List.
Suzhou in East China’s Jiangsu province represents the only host city in China for the UNESCO World Heritage Committee.
Now let’s take a look at 6 newly added sites in China from 2011 to 2016.
1. West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou
（杭州西湖文化景觀）
The West Lake Cultural Landscape of Hangzhou， comprising the West Lake and the hills surrounding its three sides， has inspired famous poets， scholars and artists since the 9th century. It comprises numerous temples， pagodas， pavilions， gardens and ornamental trees， as well as causeways and artificial islands. These additions have been made to improve the landscape west of the city of Hangzhou to the south of the Yangtze river.
自公元9世纪以来，西湖的湖光山色引得无数文人骚客、艺术大师吟咏兴叹、泼墨挥毫。景区内有庙宇、亭台、宝塔、园林，其间点缀着奇花异木、岸堤岛屿，为江南的杭州城增添了一处美景。
North of the Great Wall， the Site of Xanadu encompasses the remains of Kublai Khan’s legendary capital city， designed by the Mongol ruler’s Chinese advisor Liu Bingzhong in 1256. Over a surface area of 25，000 hectares， the site was a unique attempt to assimilate the nomadic Mongolian and Han Chinese cultures. From this base， Kublai Khan established the Yuan Dynasty that ruled China over a century， extending its boundaries across Asia. The religious debate that took place here resulted in the dissemination of Tibetan Buddhism over northeast Asia， a cultural and religious tradition still practised in many areas today.
The site was planned according to traditional Chinese feng shui in relation to the nearby mountains and river. It features the remains of the city， including temples， palaces， tombs， nomadic encampments and the Tiefan’gang Canal， along with other waterworks.
位于长城以北的元上都遗址包含着忽必烈时期这座传奇都城的大量遗存，占地25000多公顷。元上都是1256年由蒙古统治者的汉人幕僚刘秉忠设计的，这是一次特有的融合蒙古游牧民族文化和汉族文化的尝试。忽必烈就是由此出发开创了元朝，统治中国百年之久，并把其疆域扩大到了亚洲以外。曾在此进行的宗教辩论令藏传佛教得以在东北亚地区传播，并且成为这一地区很多地方沿袭至今的文化与宗教传统。
元上都根据中国传统风水理论依山傍水而建。元上都遗址现存有寺庙、宫殿、坟墓、游牧民族帐篷，以及包括铁幡竿渠在内的水利工程。
3. Chengjiang’s Fossils Site
（澄江生物群化石遗址）
A hilly 512 ha site in Yunnan province， Chengjiang’s fossils present the most complete record of an early Cambrian marine community with exceptionally preserved biota， displaying the anatomy of hard and soft tissues in a very wide variety of organisms， invertebrate and vertebrate. They record the early establishment of a complex marine ecosystem. The site witnesses more than 120 kinds of animals and plants as well as some rare species， presenting exceptional testimony to the rapid diversification of life on Earth 530 million years ago， when almost all of today’s major animal groups emerged. It opens a palaeobiological window of great significance to scholarship.
澄江生物群化石遗址位于云南省的山地丘陵地区，占地512公顷，是目前保存最完整的早期海洋古生物化石群，展现了门类广泛的无脊椎与脊椎生命体的硬组织及软组织解剖构造。澄江化石群记录了早期复杂海洋生态系统的形成。澄江生物群化石遗址至少发现了120多种动植物和一些珍稀的种群，是5.3亿年前地球生物大爆炸的证据 —— 现今地球上主要动物群都在这一时期出现。它为古生物学的学术研究打开了一扇重要的窗口。
4. The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces
（红河哈尼梯田文化景观）
The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces covers16， 603 hectares in Southern Yunnan. It is marked by spectacular terraces that cascade down the slopes of the towering Ailao Mountains to the banks of the Hong River.
Over the past 1，300 years， the Hani people have developed a complex system of channels to bring water from the forested mountaintops to the terraces. They have also created an integrated farming system that involves buffalos， cattle， ducks， fish and eel and supports the production of red rice， the area’s primary crop. The inhabitants worship the sun， moon， mountains， rivers， forests and other natural phenomena including fire. They live in 82 villages situated between the mountaintop forests and the terraces. The villages feature traditional thatched “mushroom” houses. The resilient land management system of the rice terraces demonstrates extraordinary harmony between people and their environment， both visually and ecologically， based on exceptional and long-standing social and religious structures.
紅河哈尼文化景观位于云南南部，占地16603公顷，以从高耸的哀牢山沿着斜坡顺延到红河沿岸的壮丽梯田而著称。
在过去的1300多年间，哈尼族人民发明了复杂的沟渠系统，将山上的水从草木丛生的山顶送至各级梯田。他们还创造出一个完整的农作体系，包含水牛、牛、鸭、鱼类和鳝类，并且支持了当地主要的谷物 —— 红米的生产。当地居民崇拜日、月、山、河、森林，以及其他自然现象（包括火在内）。他们居住在分布于山顶森林和梯田之间的82个村寨里，这些村寨以传统的茅草“蘑菇房”为特色。为梯田建立的弹性管理系统，建立在特殊且古老的社会和宗教结构基础上，体现出人与环境在视觉和生态上的高度和谐。
5. Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape
（广西左江花山岩画）
Located on the steep cliffs in the border regions of southwest China， these 38 sites of rock art illustrate the life and rituals of the Luoyue people. They date from the period around the 5th century BCE to the 2nd century CE. In a surrounding landscape of karst， rivers and plateaux， they depict ceremonies which have been interpreted as portraying the bronze drum culture once prevalent across southern China.
This cultural landscape is the only trace left of this culture today.
左江花山岩画位于中国西南边陲地区的陡峭岩壁上。这38处岩画展现的是骆越人生活和宗教仪式的场景。这些绘制年代可追溯至公元前5世纪至公元2世纪的岩画与其依存的喀斯特地貌、河流和台地一起，使人得以一窥过去在中国南方盛行一时的青铜鼓文化仪式的原貌。
这一文化景观如今是这种文化曾经存在的唯一见证。
6. Hubei Shennongjia
（湖北神农架）
Located in Hubei province， in central-eastern China， the site consists of two components： Shennongding /Badong to the west and Laojunshan to the east.
It protects the largest primary forests remaining in Central China and provides habitats for many rare animal species， such as the Chinese giant salamander， the golden or snub-nosed monkey， the clouded leopard， common leopard and the Asian black bear.
Hubei Shennongjia is one of three centres of biodiversity in China. The site features prominently in the history of botanical research and was the object of international plant collecting expeditions in the 19th and 20th centuries.
神農架位于中国中东部湖北省。这处遗产地由两部分构成：西边的神农顶/巴东和东边的老君山。
这里有中国中部地区最大的原始森林，是中国大蝾螈、川金丝猴、云豹、金钱豹、亚洲黑熊等许多珍稀动物的栖息地。
湖北神农架是中国三大生物多样性中心之一，在19和20世纪期间曾是国际植物收集探险活动的目的地，在植物学研究史上占据重要地位。
