An ancient university in India and rock art in China are among the four new additions to UNESCO's World Heritage List. More additions are expected to come this week.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/R.Raj
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The Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art Cultural Landscape in China encompasses 38 sites of rock art which illustrate how the Luoyue people lived from the 5th century BC to the 2nd century AD. In particular, the art portrays the bronze drum culture that used to be prevalent across southern China.
The one-of-a-kind site was one of four added to UNESCO's prestigious World Heritage List Friday (15.07.2016), the organization announced on Twitter:
UNESCO is holding its annual World Heritage Committee session in Istanbul from July 10-20, during which it reviews its World Heritage List, which incorporates over 1,000 sites around the globe. While 27 new sites are under review for the list, 48 sites endangered by war or natural catastrophe could also potentially be removed over the course of the meeting.
UNESCO World Heritage status is highly coveted by applying countries, as it boosts tourism and interest in the region.
Also added to the World Heritage List on Friday was the archaeological site of the Nalanda Mahavihara University in Bihar in north-eastern India. The site, which includes remains of a Buddhist religious education institution that functioned without interruption from the 3rd century BC to the 13th century AD, features artworks made of stucco, stone and metal. Nalanda is considered the oldest university on the Indian Subcontinent.
In Iran, an ancient system of aqueducts known as the Persian Qanat was also added to the World Heritage list. Eleven qanats are comprised in the system, which is still in place. It is seen as a positive example of how dry, arid climates can achieve sustainable water sharing over a great distance and over many centuries.
Nan Madol is a series of 99 islets made of basalt and coral in MicronesiaImage: picture-alliance/dpa/J-M. La-Roque
The fourth World Heritage site to be added can be found in Micronesia. Made of basalt and coral boulders, Nan Madol is a series of 99 artificial islets that are home to ruins ranging from temple to tombs from the years 1200 to 1500. They are representative of the Saudeleur dynasty, which was considered a vibrant period in Pacific Island culture, and give evidence of the complex social and religious practices of the time.
Click through the gallery below for additional sites applying for World Heritage status:
These sites are applying for World Heritage status
UNESCO is discussing its World Heritage List this week in Istanbul. From around the world, the sites must be unique and of extraordinary significance to qualify. Here are six of the 29 of the sites on the table.
Image: picture alliance/maxppp/L. Thierry
Gibraltar: Gorham's Cave
The exit of Gorham's Cave offers a unique view across the Mediterranean. But the view inside is even more spectacular with a narrow corridor ending in a kind of gravesite. The bitg sensation are the rock paintings left behind by the cave's former inhabitants, Neanderthals. The artworks are presumed to be 39,000 years old.
Image: The Gibraltar Museum/Clive Finlayson
Caribbean: Nelson's Dockyard
It's the first time ever that the island state of Antigua and Barbuda has applied for World Heritage status. The historic harbor Nelson's Dockyard is located in a natural port. After Englishmen had settled there in 1671, the port became an important marine base. At present, many historic buildings have been restored and the port is the largest outdoor museum in the Caribbean.
The ancient town of Philippi, founded in 362 BC, once formed part of the Roman Empire. That's where the famous battle between Cesar's assassins, Brutus and Cassius and Antony and Octavian, took place. Part of the oral tradition is the dictum "At Philippi, we'll meet again" which was picked up by Shakespeare in "Julius Cesar."
Image: picture alliance/akg-images/Leo G. Linder
Canada: Mistaken Point
The name of this headland is appropriate due to the horrors once experienced here by seamen. In the fog, many of them confused the location with the nearby port of Cape Race and crashed against the rocks. Unique to this remote part of Newfoundland are its 500-million-years-old fossils, which are among the world's oldest .
Le Corbusier was one of the most influential architects of the 20th century. Not just a single building, but his entire ouevre consisting of 17 buildings spread over Argentine, Belgium, Germany, France, India, Japan and Switzerland, has been nominated as a World Heritage site. The Corbusier buildings in Stuttgart are the only UNESCO proposal made by Germany this year.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/F. Kraufmann
France: Chaîne des Puys
France's famous Massif Central is home to 100 inactive volcanoes. Already during the 19th century, tourists visited the volcano chain called Chaîne des Puys. For 200 years, this landscape, reminiscent of the moon , has been an important site for volcanologists to do research.
