India: Maratha Military Landscapes of India

The property includes twelve major fortifications, mostly in Maharashtra State, with one in Tamil Nadu. These forts, such as Raigad, Shivneri, and Sindhudurg, were built, adapted, or expanded by the Marathas between the late 17th and early 19th centuries. Strategically located on coastal and mountainous terrain, they formed a complex defence system supporting Maratha military dominance, trade protection, and territorial control. This network played a key role in the Marathas’ rise as a major political and military force.

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Japan: Sada Shin Noh, sacred dancing at Sada shrine, Shimane - intangible cultural heritage

Sada Shin Noh comprises a series of ritual purification dances performed every year on 24 and 25 September at the Sada Shrine in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture, Japan as part of the gozakae ritual of the changing of the rush mats. The dances are undertaken to purify new rush mats (goza), upon which the tutelary deities of the shrine will sit. The replacement of mats elicits their blessings for the community. Diverse types of dance are performed on a stage specially constructed within the shrine. In some, performers carry swords, holy wooden sticks and bells; in others, dancers wear masks depicting the faces of old men or deities and re-enact Japanese myths. 

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South Korea: Taekkyeon, a traditional Korean martial art - Intangible Cultural Heritage

Taekkyeon is a traditional Korean martial art that makes use of fluid, rhythmic dance-like movements to strike or trip up an opponent. The graceful movements of a well-trained Taekkyeon performer are gentle and circular rather than straight and rigid, but can explode with enormous flexibility and strength. The feet play as important a role as the hands. In spite of its gentle impression, Taekkyeon is an effective martial art highlighting a broad variety of offensive and defensive skills employing all available fighting methods. It also teaches consideration: a skilled Taekkyeon practitioner can rapidly dominate an opponent, but a true master knows how to make an opponent withdraw without incurring damage. As a part of seasonal farming-related traditions, Taekkyeon serves to facilitate community integration, and as a sport accessible to all plays a major role in promoting public health. Taekkyeon is also practised by a great number of people as a daily activity. There are approximately fifty recognized practitioners of Taekkyeon at present, and the Korean Taekkyeon Association plays a significant role in the transmission and promotion of this traditional martial art.

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Uzbekistan: Historic Centre of Bukhara

Bukhara, which is situated on the Silk Route, is more than 2,000 years old. It is the most complete example of a medieval city in Central Asia, with an urban fabric that has remained largely intact. Monuments of particular interest include the famous tomb of Ismail Samani, a masterpiece of 10th-century Muslim architecture, and a large number of 17th-century madrasas.

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Chor Minor

Korea: Namhansanseong

Namhansanseong was designed as an emergency capital for the Joseon dynasty (1392–1910), in a mountainous site 25 km south-east of Seoul. Built and defended by Buddhist monk-soldiers, it could accommodate 4,000 people and fulfilled important administrative and military functions. Its earliest remains date from the 7th century, but it was rebuilt several times, notably in the early 17th century in anticipation of an attack from the Sino-Manchu Qing dynasty. The city embodies a synthesis of the defensive military engineering concepts of the period, based on Chinese and Japanese influences, and changes in the art of fortification following the introduction from the West of weapons using gunpowder. A city that has always been inhabited, and which was the provincial capital over a long period, it contains evidence of a variety of military, civil and religious buildings and has become a symbol of Korean sovereignty.

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Malaysia: The Archaeological Heritage of Niah National Park’s Caves Complex

This complex of colossal, interconnected caverns is located near the west coast of Borneo Island at the centre of Niah National Park.  It contains the longest known records of human interaction with rainforest, spanning at least 50,000 years, from the Pleistocene to the Mid-Holocene periods. The rich archaeological deposits, prehistoric rock paintings and boat-shaped burials found at the northern edge of the massif illustrate biological and human life during this time, and contribute greatly to the knowledge of human development, adaptation and migration in southeast Asia, as well as in a global context. Local communities still observe an ancient tradition of molong – ‘take only what you need’— when harvesting guano and valuable edible bird’s nests from the caves.

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China: Xixia Imperial Tombs

Located in the foothills of the southern Helan Mountains in Ningxia, this necropolis is the imperial cemetery of the Xixia Dynasty. It includes nine imperial mausoleums, 271 subordinate tombs, a northern architectural complex, and 32 flood control structures. Founded by the Tanguts in 1038, the Xixia Dynasty lasted until its destruction by Genghis Khan’s Mongol army in 1227. Positioned along the Silk Road, it became a multicultural civilization modelled on Chinese imperial traditions, with Buddhism at its core. The property reflects the dynasty’s religious and socio-political legacy.

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Korea: Baekje Historic Areas

Located in the mountainous mid-western region of the Republic of Korea, this property comprises eight archaeological sites dating from 475 to 660 CE, including the Gongsanseong fortress and royal tombs at Songsan-ri related to the capital, Ungjin (present day Gongju), the Busosanseong Fortress and Gwanbuk-ri administrative buildings, the Jeongnimsa Temple, the royal tombs in Neungsan-ri and the Naseong city wall related to the capital, Sabi (now Buyeo), the royal palace at Wanggung-ri and the Mireuksa Temple in Iksan related to the secondary Sabi capital. Together, these sites represent the later period of the Baekje Kingdom – one of the three earliest kingdoms on the Korean peninsula (18 BCE to 660 CE) - during which time they were at the crossroads of considerable technological, religious (Buddhist), cultural and artistic exchanges between the ancient East Asian kingdoms in Korea, China and Japan.

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Indonesia: The Cosmological Axis of Yogyakarta and its Historic Landmarks

The central axis of Yogyakarta was established in the 18th century by Sultan Mangkubumi, and has continued from that time as a centre of government and Javanese cultural traditions. The six kilometre north-south axis is positioned to link Mount Merapi and the Indian Ocean, with the Kraton (palace) at its centre, and key cultural monuments lining the axis to the north and south that are connected through rituals. It embodies key beliefs about the cosmos in Javanese culture, including the marking of the cycles of life.

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China: City Walls of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (tentative)

Nanjing City Wall

 

Japan: Sado Island Gold Mines

The Sado Island Gold Mines are a serial property located on Sado Island, some thirty-five kilometres west of the Niigata Prefecture coast. It is formed of several component parts illustrative of different unmechanised mining methods. Sado Island is of volcanic origin and features two parallel mountain ranges stretching from southwest to northeast and separated by one alluvial plain, the Kuninaka Plain. Gold and silver deposits were formed by the rising of hydrothermal water to the land surface and forming veins in the rock; tectonic activity first submerged the surface deposits to the seabed, which was later raised again by tectonic movements. Placer deposits were exploited in Nishimikawa Area, located on the north-western side of the Kosado Mountains. In addition, the weathering of the volcanic rock exposed ore veins, which were mined underground in the Aikawa-Tsurushi Area, at the southern end of the Osado Mountains range. Mostly tangible attributes reflecting mining activities and social and labour organisation are preserved as archaeological elements, both above and below ground, and landscape features.

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Japan: Sacred Island of Okinoshima and Associated Sites in the Munakata Region

Located 60 km off the western coast of Kyushu island, the island of Okinoshima is an exceptional example of the tradition of worship of a sacred island. The archaeological sites that have been preserved on the island are virtually intact, and provide a chronological record of how the rituals performed there changed from the 4th to the 9th centuries AD. In these rituals, votive objects were deposited as offerings at different sites on the island. Many of them are of exquisite workmanship and had been brought from overseas, providing evidence of intense exchanges between the Japanese archipelago, the Korean Peninsula and the Asian continent. Integrated within the Grand Shrine of Munakata, the island of Okinoshima is considered sacred to this day.

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China: Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital

Running north to south through the heart of historical Beijing, the Central Axis consists of former imperial palaces and gardens, sacrificial structures, and ceremonial and public buildings. Together they bear testimony to the evolution of the city and exhibits evidence of the imperial dynastic system and urban planning traditions of China. The location, layout, urban pattern, roads and design showcase the ideal capital city as prescribed in the Kaogongji, an ancient text known as the Book of Diverse Crafts. The area, between two parallel rivers, has been settled for about 3,000 years, but the Central Axis itself originated during the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) that established its capital, Dadu, in the northern part. The property also features later historical structures built during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and improved during the Qing Dynasty (1636-1912).

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China: Slender West Lake and Historic Urban Area in Yangzhou - tentative

Slender West Lake, formerly Baozhang Lake, is located in the northwest of Yangzhou City, Jiangsu Province, covering an area of two square kilometers. In the mid-18th century, the moats and a large number of suburban villas of salt traders along the moats built in different locations and in different historical period (Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing dynasties) were connected elaborately and delicately to welcome the south inspection of Emperor Qianlong, thus forming a beautiful belt of the lake with garden scenery combining natural and human landscapes characterized by the most famous 24 scenes of "rolling stone archway, winding water in west park, spring pillow on the long bank, bright cloud in white pagoda" etc. The typical layout of Chinese scroll-type picture was recorded by royal painters and filed in imperial storehouse due to its unique aesthetic value. Thanks to the impact of the south inspections by Emperor Qianlong and the support of its salt economy, Yangzhou had became the garden-building centre in China, represented by classical garden cluster around the Slender West Lake. As well-known as "Yangzhou Gardens is second to none in South China" and "Yangzhou Gardens is the best in China", it embodies the most advanced art in terms of layout, architecture, stone laying, water conservation, plant arrangement, etc. As a masterpiece in garden-building after Yuanmingyuan Park during the reign of Emperor Kangxi in the Qing Dynasty, a lot of experiences can be drawn from it in the construction of the Chengde Mountain Resort.

China: Western Xia Imperial Tombs (tentative)

Western Xia Imperial Tombs are the royal mausoleums of the emperors in the Western Xia Dynasty (1038-1227). Located at the eastern slope of the Helan Mountains, western suburb about 35km away from Yinchuan City in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Tombs are the best-preserved historic cultural heritage representing the Tangut civilization at the largest scale and in the highest rank.

Japan: Jomon Prehistoric Sites in Northern Japan

The property consists of 17 archaeological sites in the southern part of Hokkaido Island and northern Tohoku in geographical settings ranging from mountains and hills to plains and lowlands, from inland bays to lakes, and rivers. They bear a unique testimony to the development over some 10,000 years of the pre-agricultural yet sedentary Jomon culture and its complex spiritual belief system and rituals. It attests to the emergence, development, maturity and adaptability to environmental changes of a sedentary hunter-fisher-gatherer society which developed from about 13,000 BCE. Expressions of Jomon spirituality were given tangible form in objects such as lacquered pots, clay tablets with the impression of feet, the famous goggle eyed dogu figurines, as well as in ritual places including earthworks and large stone circles reaching diameters of more than 50 metres. The serial property testifies to the rare and very early development of pre-agricultural sedentism from emergence to maturity.'

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Sannai Maruyama Iseki

China: Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu’er

Located on Jingmai Mountain in southwestern China, this cultural landscape was developed over a thousand years by the Blang and Dai peoples following practices that began in the 10th century. The property is a tea production area comprised of traditional villages within old tea groves surrounded by forests and tea plantations. The traditional understorey cultivation of old tea trees is a method that responds to the specific conditions of the mountain’s ecosystem and subtropical monsoon climate, combined with a governance system maintained by the local Indigenous communities. Traditional ceremonies and festivities relate to the Tea Ancestor belief that spirits live in the tea plantations and in the local fauna and flora, a belief that is at the core of this cultural tradition.

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China: Badain Jaran Desert - Towers of Sand and Lakes

Located in the Alashan Plateau in the hyper-arid and temperate desert region of northwestern China, the Badain Jaran Desert is a meeting point for three sandy regions of China and is the country’s third largest desert and second largest drifting desert. The property stands out with its high density of mega-dunes, intersected with inter-dunal lakes. It displays spectacular ongoing geological and geomorphic features of desert landscapes and landforms which may well be unparalleled. Noteworthy features, among others, include the world’s tallest, stabilized sand mega-dune (relative relief of 460 m); the highest concentration of inter-dunal lakes; and the largest expanse of so-called singing sands (describing the resonance caused for example by wind moving dry and loose sand) and wind-eroded landforms. The varied landscape also results in a high level of habitat diversity, and hence of biodiversity.

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Philippines: Mayon Volcano Natural Park (tentative)

The Mayon Volcano is situated in the southern part of the main island of Luzon, 500 kilometres south of Manila. Towering at a height of 2,462 meters above sea level, it is known for its perfectly conical shape whose natural beauty has inspired a number of legends and art. The most active volcano in the Philippines and one of the most active in the world, having erupted over 51 times in the past four centuries, the most destructive of which is in 1814 when five towns in its periphery were destroyed. Nevertheless, it has developed a culture of resiliency among the inhabitants of its vicinity, who always rebuilt their towns and cultivated their fields after each destructive eruption.

Description by UNESCO licensed under CC-BY-SA IGO 3.0.

Philippines: Chocolate Hills Natural Monument (tentative)

Chocolate Hills and its immediate environs are relatively flat to rolling topography with elevation ranges from 100 m to 500 m above sea level. It has been declared the country's 3rd National Geological Monument on June 18, 1988 in recognition of its scientific value and geomorphic uniqueness.

Similar to the formations found in Java, the conical and almost symmetrical and same-sized hills known as the "Chocolate Hills", are more aesthetically extensive. These were the uplift of coral deposits and the result of the action of rainwater and erosion. The hills are located throughout the towns of Carmen, Batuan and Sagbayan and consist of about 1,776 mounds of the same general shape. During the dry season when precipitation in inadequate, the grass-covered hills turn chocolate brown, hence the name in reference to a branded confection.

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