Xi stresses preserving China's cultural, natural heritage

BEIJING -- Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged further efforts to preserve the country's cultural and natural treasures and renew their glamour in the new era.

Xi, also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks in an instruction on strengthening the protection, preservation and utilization of cultural and natural heritage.

The instruction was made after one cultural heritage and two natural heritages of China were inscribed on the World Heritage List by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in July 2024.

UNESCO announced the inscription of Beijing Central Axis: A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital, Badain Jaran Desert -- Towers of Sand, and Lakes, and Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II) on its list at the 46th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India.

The inclusion of these heritage items has positive significance for the building of Chinese modernization that features material and cultural-ethical advancement and harmony between humanity and nature, Xi said, noting that it also adds new luster to world civilizations.

Xi called for efforts to take this UNESCO inclusion as an opportunity to further strengthen the comprehensive and systematic protection of cultural and natural heritage and make good use of them to better meet the people's needs.

He also urged enhanced international exchange and cooperation in this field, and efforts to make greater contribution to the practice of the Global Civilization Initiative and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Currently, China is home to a total of 59 World Heritage Sites.