Nine new sites added to World Heritage List — botanical gardens also make the cut!

By / MOOK Scenic Spots Home Travel Life Network Editorial Department
 

UNESCO held the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in Bonn, Germany, and announced nine new additions to the World Heritage List. These include renowned sites such as China’s “Tusi Sites,” Japan’s Hashima Island, and Singapore’s Botanic Gardens. They were inscribed for their representative cultural and historical significance. With this addition, China now has 48 World Heritage Sites, ranking second globally in total number, only behind Italy.

The nine new World Heritage Sites are:
● Japan | Hashima Island

Once reported by British media as one of the world’s top ten ghost towns, Japan’s “Hashima Island” is an abandoned island located about 19 kilometers southwest of Nagasaki. Nicknamed “Gunkanjima” (Battleship Island) due to its ship-like shape, the small island once housed up to 5,000 residents during the height of its mining industry. As the mines declined, inhabitants left, leaving behind crumbling, empty buildings that create an eerie, post-apocalyptic scene.

● France | Champagne and Burgundy Vineyards

The champagne industry is a culmination of agriculture, industry, and commerce. UNESCO noted that the vineyards, cellars, and estate buildings of France’s Champagne region hold significant cultural value.

● China | Tusi Sites
China’s Tusi Sites reflect the ancient Chinese state’s unique management wisdom of “administering policies and educating people according to local customs” in governing its multi-ethnic southwestern regions. This approach promoted sustained development in ethnic areas, contributed to long-term national unity, and played a prominent role in preserving the diversity of ethnic cultures.
 
● Singapore | Singapore Botanic Gardens

The Singapore Botanic Gardens is the first tropical garden to be included in the World Heritage List, and the third garden worldwide to receive this recognition. Spanning 74 hectares and with over 150 years of history, the gardens are home to tens of thousands of orchid plants and more than 20,000 species of tropical and subtropical flowers and trees.

● South Korea | Baekje Historic Areas
The Baekje Historic Areas not only vividly showcase the historical interactions between ancient Korean kingdoms and other East Asian states such as China and Japan, but also encapsulate the unique cultural values of the Baekje Kingdom itself. Together with the Goguryeo Tombs (North Korea) and the Gyeongju Historic Areas, they represent the ancient capital cultures of the Three Kingdoms of Korea, all of which have been inscribed as World Heritage Sites.
 
● United States | San Antonio Missions

Located in Hamburg, Germany, the Speicherstadt warehouse district was initially established in 1888. After decades of development, it has become the world’s largest warehouse-based integrated market. The area’s growth reflects the global expansion of trade from the late 19th century to the early 20th century.