The author / Single of the Qiang, "China's National Geographic" magazine executive editor
In the United States, "National Geographic" magazine to see a report on world heritage, including two sentence to describe the world's heritage, one that is: "the world's most precious place"; one is: "the best of the best" . Not only the United States, "National Geographic" was in fact is also true most people see the world heritage. Is the world really is no doubt the authority of heritage Mody?
Now a total of 754 World Heritage Sites. Europe accounted for 325, 175 in Asia, Africa 96, Australia has 19 items, there are 78 in North America, South America, there are 61. From this, the distribution of world heritage mainly concentrated in Europe, more precisely, concentrated in Western Europe.
The distribution from the estate of view, it is difficult to believe that heritage is "the world's most precious place" and the "best of the best" such a conclusion, because it can not be a number of places are concentrated in Europe.
Heritage of the world's largest Spanish 〔37〕, second, Italy (36), whether from natural or from a human perspective, this is not normal. From the natural point of view, such a small territory of Spain, it is impossible to focus a lot of the natural landscape; from a cultural perspective, there are four ancient civilizations in the world: China, India, Egypt, Babylon, as well as Persian, Byzantine, etc. , how can it turn to Spain?
The World Heritage Committee has also begun to recognize this problem, allegedly in order to balance the distribution of world heritage, provides a national assessment year only, those who have not yet entered the country except the Heritage List. Last year, China is only one application is approved, that is, Yunnan's "Three Parallel Rivers." Obviously, this method does not change the legacy of uneven distribution of the situation, Spain will still maintain the first position. More importantly, such a country engaged in a balancing out of the legacy, how could it be "the world's most precious place" and the "best of the best" mean?
Currently, China's world heritage, only 29, it was said, at least 100, the World Heritage in the global distribution be regarded as fair. I think that was justified, but still a bit conservative, as I see so far, China has 150 - 200 Xiang not be too much. The legacy of China in the future there should be more than 1,000 is normal. Because the world no country like China in the natural and human both have tremendous wealth of resources. China has in other countries in the natural can not compare with the natural and unique landscape areas, such as the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, Loess Plateau, the Taklimakan Desert and so on, the southwest region a wide range of karst topography, the western mountains, the eastern coastline, and so long ; in the humanities, China has the world's rare 5000 years of uninterrupted history of civilization. Therefore, the Chinese contribute more to world heritage is a historical necessity.
Currently, China's world heritage is also concentrated in the east. Heritage in China, also has a distribution of imbalances. We are now the cultural environment and understanding of standards can not be fully aware of the natural landscape and ethnic minorities in China's western cultural values. For example, in China's existing 29 heritage belongs to the eastern region alone, there are 14, of which Beijing on the possession of six; is the central region there are 13; are the only two in the western region. This in turn reminds me of Natiao the famous "Hu Huanyong line", from Heihe in Heilongjiang province of Yunnan's Tengchong to draw a line, this line to divide China into two parts: the southeast and northwest, southeast account for only 36% of our territory, however, account for 96% of the population, the Northwest is in the opposite. Similarly, the distribution of World Heritage in China, also show such a state. If we say that the distribution of the population due to natural conditions, then the distribution of world heritage is largely Shi Ran awareness of the mainstream culture. Is the traditional power so that we can not see the beauty of the west, but also ignored the western cultural values.
I have just come back from a cross-sectional study Mountains region, I think, where a vast reservoir of natural and cultural resources, where there are many things to make the World Heritage shade. Those who travel the World Heritage List as a "Bible" who will miss those traumatic as the world-class landscape. For example, the natural landscape, where some of the high mountains - Gongga Mountain (elevation 7556 meters), Siguniang Mountain (elevation 6250 meters), Inagi the three Kamiyama (Xian Nairi: 6032 meters above sea level; Yang Maiyong: 5958 meters above sea level;), etc., and even some magnificent, Atlas stays in the mountains: Qionglai mountains, snow mountains, Yunling Mountains, shaluli mountains, Biluo snow-capped mountains, tanen Mountains, Markam Mountain ... ... the vast and mighty, winding ups and mountains, each column is a world-class landscape, Huangshan, Lushan, Wuyi, Emei Moroyama Though it is a world heritage, but in my opinion, with mountains and mountain ranges compared with the aforementioned, as if is the lake of the sea, gardens of the forest, bonsai's in the prototype;
Where the collection of the world's most spectacular gorge groups: Dadu River Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon, the Yalong, Jinsha River Grand Canyon, Grand Canyon, the Lancang River, Nu River Grand Canyon, as well as the Yarlung Zangbo Grand Canyon, the canyon and the United States can the Grand Canyon known as the world's No. 1 rival the Grand Canyon, which is not only a world-class natural scenery, but also a world-class cultural heritage, these canyons are dozens of national life, migration, evolution, assimilation, differentiation of the major corridors, but also human Hunting civilization to civilization, from the evolution of farming heritage corridor.
In the humanities area, there are more neglected things. Example Tibetan houses. When you are in the mountains, walk walk, saw a rise in front of a Tibetan village, you will a sudden hallucination, that came to a paradise on earth. You could not believe in this wilderness of mountains, how will appear only in the Imperial Palace where it may occur as residential areas, they are so co-ordination and the environment, the color is so glamorous, style is so vivid. Ganzi Prefecture in Sichuan's Danba, Daofu, Kangding ... ... I was a house built on the genius and traditions of Tibetan attracted by more appealing to me are those ancient towers, from the Tang Dynasty, said there are documented here, the "1000 Tibetan stone house of the country . " In the Danba shuttle slope, watching stand upright in the wind and rain in the ancient Tibetan stone base, I think they like, is an exclamation point in history, lamented quietly walked every step here.
But, even though the United States, so long, so the original ecology of the settlement, residential areas, but missed the World Heritage. I saw in China, preparing to declare the list of heritage, there are the towers of Guangdong Kaiping, Kaiping overseas Chinese family of towers are built. I think in terms of aesthetics, historical value, typical and universal significance, and so various aspects of the towers in Kaiping and Danba of the towers can not be comparable to those of its advantages is its location, in the east, in the mainstream culture of the field of vision.
If the world continues to ignore, as Gongga Heritage Hill or Danba group of houses and towers like some places, how can we say that the world heritage as "the world's most precious place" and the "best of the best" mean?
"Chinese National Geography" 2004 No. 6 Preface
