| UNESCO World Heritage Sites are categorised as either Cultural, Natural or both Cultural and Natural. With some truly stunning landscapes in China along with lots of historically important sites, China has a mixture of all three. Let’s have a look at some natural World Heritage Sites in China.  Jiuzhaigou Valley Scenic and Historic Interest Area The Jiuzhaigou valley has to be one of the most breathtaking spots in all of China. One look at its beautiful, clear lakes and it’s no surprise why it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is part of the Min Mountains (岷山 mín shān) on the edge of the Tibetan Plateau. The Chinese name is 九寨沟 (jiǔzhàigōu). Its located in Jiuzhaigou County, Sichuan and was listed in 1992. The area stretches out over 180,000 acres and was turned into a national park in 1982. The Jiuzhaigou valley officially opened up to tourists in 1984, and in recent years has become a hugely popular destination. Wulingyuan China is full of unique natural sites, that you’ll have a hard time believing are real. Wulingyuan is definitely one of these, with its sandstone pillars creating a landscape that looks out of this world. In fact, this landscape actually inspired the mountains shown in the blockbuster film Avatar, with the mountains now commonly being referred to by foreign tourists as the “Avatar Mountains”. The Chinese name is 武陵源 (wǔlíngyuán), its located in Zhangjiajie, Hunan and was listed in 1992. The area is made up of four national parks, with the most famous probably being Zhangjiajie National Forest Park. The area is part of the Wuling Mountain Range (武陵山脉 wǔlíng shānmài) and covers 690 square kilometres. Fanjingshan Following on from Wulingyuan, we have another site that is part of the Wuling Mountains, Fanjingshan (also known as Mount Fanjing). It is the highest peak of the mountains at an elevation of 2,570 m. The Chinese name is 梵净山 (fànjìngshān), its located in Tongren, Guizhou and was listed in 2018. Fanjingshan is a sacred mountain of Chinese Buddhism. The name Fanjing is short for 梵天净土 (fàntiān jìngtǔ) fantian is the Chinese name for Brahmā, and jingtu is Chinese for “pure land”, so it’s name literally means “Brahma’s Pure Land”. Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries Home to China’s “national treasure” the panda (大熊猫 dà xióngmāo), it’s no wonder that these giant panda sanctuaries are a World Heritage Site. The Chinese name is 四川大熊猫栖息地 (sìchuān dàxióngmāo qīxīdì), its located in Sichuan and was listed in 2006. Included in the listing are seven nature reserves and nine scenic parks. If you’re wondering about which area to visit, be sure to check out our guide to pandas in Chengdu. The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries are home to over 30% of the world’s giant pandas and are vitally important for captive breeding of these pandas. |
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