100 Historical and Cultural Cities

Municipalities directly under the Central Government:

Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin and Chongqing

Hebei Province: Baoding, Chengde, Zhengding,* Handan

Shanxi Province: Pingyao,* Datong, Xinjiang,* Daixian,* Qixian*

Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region: Hohhot

Heilongjiang Province: Harbin

Jilin Province: Jilin, Ji’an

Liaoning Province: Shenyang

Jiangsu Province: Nanjing, Xuzhou, Huai’an, Zhenjiang, Changshu,  Suzhou, Yangzhou

Zhejiang Province: Hangzhou, Shaoxing, Ningbo, Quzhou, Linhai

Fujian Province: Fuzhou, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Changting*

Jiangxi Province: Nanchang, Ganzhou, Jingdezhen

Anhui Province: Bozhou, Shexian,* Shouxian*

Shandong Province: Jinan, Qufu, Qingdao, Liaocheng, Zoucheng,  Zibo

Henan Province: Zhengzhou, Luoyang, Kaifeng, Anyang, Nanyang, Shangqiu, Junxian*

Hubei Province: Wuhan, Jingzhou, Xiangfan, Suizhou, Zhongxiang

Hunan Province: Changsha, Yueyang, Fenghuang*

Guangdong Province: Guangzhou, Chaozhou, Zhaoqing, Foshan,  Meizhou, Leizhou

Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region: Guilin, Liuzhou

Hainan Province: Qiongshan

Sichuan Province: Chengdu, Zigong, Yibin, Langzhong, Leshan, Dujiangyan, Luzhou

Yunnan Province: Kunming, Dali, Lijiang,* Jianshui,* Weishan*

Guizhou Province: Zunyi, Zhenyuan*

Tibet Autonomous Region: Lhasa, Xigaze, Gyangze*

Shaanxi Province: Xi’an, Yan’an, Hancheng, Yulin, Xianyang, Hanzhong

Gansu Province: Zhangye, Wuwei, Dunhuang, Tianshui

Qinghai Province: Tongren*

Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region: Yinchuan

Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region: Kashi

Note: Names with asterisk are counties.

29 World Heritage Sites

China’s historic preservation efforts have received international recognition, most notably through the list of World Natural or Cultural Heritage sites. By the end of 2002, China had 28 UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites, World Natural Heritage sites and World Cultural and Natural Heritage sites—all imbued with deep historical significance.  They are:

1. The Great Wall (Beijing Municipality, 1987, World Cultural Heritage)

2. The Forbidden City (Beijing Municipality, 1987, World Cultural Heritage)

3. “Peking Man” Ruins at Zhoukoudian (Beijing Municipality, 1987, World Cultural Heritage)

4. Mogao Caves at Dunhuang (Gansu Province, 1987, World Cultural Heritage)

5. Qin Shi Huang Mausoleum and the Qin Terracotta Warriors and Horses (Shaanxi Province, 1987, World Cultural Heritage)

6. Mount Taishan (Shandong Province, 1987, World Cultural and Natural Heritage)

7. Mount Huangshan (Anhui Province, 1990, World Cultural and Natural Heritage)

8. Jiuzhaigou (Sichuan Province, 1992, World Natural Heritage)

9. Huanglongsi Scenic Spot (Sichuan Province, 1992, World Natural Heritage)

10. Wulingyuan Scenic Spot (Hunan Province, 1992, World Natural Heritage)

11. Chengde Mountain Summer Resort and Eight Outer Temples (Hebei Province, 1994, World Cultural Heritage)

12. Potala Palace (Tibet Autonomous Region, 1994, World Cultural Heritage)

13. Confucius Temple, Confucius Family Mansion and Confucius Woods at Qufu (Shandong Province, 1994, World Cultural Heritage)

14. Ancient Buildings on Mount Wudang (Hubei Province, 1994, World Cultural Heritage)

15. Mount Lushan (Jiangxi Province, 1996, World Cultural Heritage)

16. Mount Emei and the Leshan Giant Buddha (Sichuan Province, 1996, World Cultural and Natural Heritage)

17. Ancient City of Pingyao (Shanxi Province, 1997, World Cultural Heritage)

18. Suzhou Classical Gardens (Jiangsu Province, 1997, World Cultural Heritage)

19. Ancient City of Lijiang (Yunnan Province, 1997, World Cultural Heritage)

20. The Summer Palace (Beijing Municipality, 1998, World Cultural Heritage)

21. The Temple of Heaven (Beijing Municipality, 1998, World Cultural Heritage)

22. Mount Wuyi (Fujian Province, 1999, World Cultural and Natural Heritage)

23. Dazu Grottoes (Chongqing Municipality, 1999, World Cultural Heritage)

24. Ming and Qing Imperial Mausoleums (Hubei and Hebei provinces, 2000, World Cultural Heritage)

25. Longmen Grottoes (Henan Province, 2000, World Cultural Heritage)

26. Mount Qingcheng and Dujiang Dam (Sichuan Province, 2000, World Cultural Heritage)

27. Xidi and Hongcun—Ancient Villages in South Anhui (Anhui           

Province, 2000, World Cultural Heritage)

28. Yungang Grottoes (Shanxi Province, 2001, World Cultural Heritage)

29. Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan(Yunnan Province, 2003, World Natural Heritage)

Museums

Some museums of cultural relics — the Qin Dynasty terracotta warriors in Xi’an is an example — have become internationally known tourist attractions. But this museum is just one of some 1,394 museums nationwide in China. Beijing alone has 118 museums including museums of ancient coins, astronautics, animation art, natural history, Beijing opera, contemporary literature, Buddhist literature and heritage, sports, stamps, classical art, fine arts, military, ethnology as well as museums honoring famous writers, artists, scientists and political figures in Chinese history. Local non-governmental museums included, the number of various museums nationwide has reached some 2,000. These museums keep over 20 million items of cultural relics and art works and hold over 8,000 exhibitions annually. The government encourages exchanges of cultural relics between museums and promotes the display and exchanges of legal non-governmental collections. 

 The National Museum of Chinese History  The National Museum of Chinese History stands on the eastern side of Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The museum’s permanent exhibition, the Exhibition of Chinese General History, was established in 1959, and the museum also has many specialized collections. In March 2003 featured exhibitions were Fine Arts of Inner Mongolia, Splendor of the Great Tang Dynasty, and a Special Exhibition of the Treasures of the National Museum of Chinese History. Since the 1980s, the National Museum of Chinese History has both organized and taken part in some 50 exhibitions in Asia, Europe, and the United States. As an example in 1996, the exhibition “Outstanding Pieces in the National Museum of Chinese History” was held in Japan. About 130 exhibits were selected from the museum’s wide collection of bronze wares, stone implements, jade ware, pottery and stone carvings. Among them was the well-known bronze mask shaped in the form of a human face, excavated at Sanxingdui of Guanghan in Sichuan Province, and the remarkable “mystic color” celadon wares found in the crypt of the Fallen Temple at Fufeng in Shaanxi Province.

The Palace Museum  in the Forbidden City in Beijing. The Palace Museum, historically and artistically one of the most comprehensive in China, was established on the foundation of a palace of two dynasties, the Ming and the Qing, and their collection of treasures. Designated by the State Council as being among China’s foremost-protected monuments in 1961, the Palace Museum is also a UNESCO World Heritage site.