Since joining the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation’s World Heritage List Programme 25 years ago, China has taken a positive role in the protection and preservation of many of its natural and cultural wonders. Today the country hosts the third most sites in the world, which represent not only a priceless tourism resource, but a critical link to the nation’s celebrated past and a window into its soul.

Currently there are 890 locations worldwide that have received the prestigious title of ‘UNESCO World Heritage Site’. From mountains and lakes to buildings or entire cities, these sites are some of the planet’s most important marvels. By unifying the principles of natural and cultural conservation, UNESCO leads from the front in the battle to preserve humanity’s collective history for the benefit of the world.

The origins of the World Heritage List (WHL) trace back to the conclusion of the First World War, when a groundswell of international interest in protecting global heritage emerged. However, the idea did not see fruition until 1972 when a UNESCO convention was finally agreed upon. China ratified the document in 1985 and hasn’t looked back since. At present, it has 38 sites on the list, just behind Italy and Spain; the most prominent examples include the Great Wall, Forbidden City, Terracotta Army and the Gardens of Suzhou.

According to the organisation’s Beijing-based Programme Specialist for Culture, Beatrice Kaldun, the overarching goal of the WHL is “to bring together the world community and help us think on a global level about our shared responsibility of preserving and protecting the natural and cultural wonders of the planet. It is a medium, a reservoir of knowledge, to better help countries manage sites, assist in the proliferation of conservation education and protect these environments for the betterment of future generations.

“China will be the one to show the world how to better manage our heritage in the future.”

In order to be eligible for a ‘World Heritage Site’ designation, stringent selection standards must be met. Initially all locations must be of ‘outstanding universal value’, then they have to fit the bill for at least one of ten criteria, six of which are cultural and four natural. Globally, cultural sites far outnumber natural or mixed properties, resulting in a recent effort by UNESCO to bring more parity to the composition of the list.

The actual process for inclusion to the list is complex. First, a country must take stock of its natural and cultural locations and add them to what is known as the Tentative List. From this initial inventory, it is then required to prepare a nomination file for the site(s) it wishes to be added to the list. UNESCO offers assistance in this exhaustive process as applications often run hundreds of pages in length. Finally, the file is reviewed by two advisory boards mandated under the convention: the International Council on Monuments and Sites and the World Conservation Union.

A site is ultimately added to the WHL after the successful completion of these steps. In China, with its huge population, this inevitably opens a floodgate of tourism and transforms the fortunes of local economies overnight. The paradox of obtaining World Heritage status is it greatly increases site visitors, thus making it more difficult to protect. And despite travellers’ witnessing and reporting a great deal of littering and vandalism of China’s World Heritage sites, UNESCO denies it’s a significant problem. According to Shantha Retnasingam, UNESCO’s chief private sector fundraiser, the organisation “empowers local governments with feasibility plans to help build infrastructure, develop training and site protection protocol and create an economic return to the people in the area through our Sustainable Tourism Programme.” Through this initiative, UNESCO says they maximise tourism and its benefits while minimising the impact.