General process of applying for world heritage

According to the UNESCO document, there are nine steps to declare the World Heritage: 1. A country must first sign the Convention for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage and ensure that its cultural and natural heritage is protected before it can become a contracting state. 2. Any State Party shall draw up a preliminary list of cultural and natural heritage with outstanding universal value within its territory. 3. Select the heritage to be included in the World Heritage List from the preparatory list. 4. Send the completed nomination form to the UNESCO World Heritage Center. 5. The UNESCO World Heritage Center shall check whether the nomination is complete and submit it to the World Conservation Union and the International Council of Monuments and Sites for review. 6. Experts go to the site to evaluate the protection and management of the heritage. According to the standards of cultural and natural heritage, the World Conservation Union and the International Council of Monuments and Sites review the nominations submitted. 7. The World Conservation Union and the International Council of Monuments and Sites submitted assessment reports. 7. Members of the Presidium of the World Heritage Committee shall review the nomination review report and submit the recommended list to the Committee. 9. The World Heritage Committee, composed of 2 1 members, finally decided on the list for selection, postponement or elimination. There are two preconditions for the classification and standards of world heritage: ① authenticity (the most basic premise) ② protection and management (laws and regulations are formulated by relevant management agencies, and the funds are acceptable).

World heritage is divided into natural heritage, cultural heritage, mixture of natural heritage and cultural heritage and cultural landscape. World Heritage has clear definitions and standards for nomination by member countries and approval by the Heritage Committee.

I. Cultural heritage

Cultural relics: buildings, sculptures and paintings with outstanding and universal value, components or structures with archaeological significance, inscriptions, caves, settlements and various cultural relics from the perspective of history, art or science.

Architectural complex: from the historical, artistic or scientific point of view, because of its architectural form, identity and position in the landscape, it has outstanding and universal value of individuals or interrelated architectural complexes.

Sites: man-made projects or masterpieces of man and nature and archaeological sites with outstanding and universal value from the perspective of history, aesthetics, ethnology or anthropology.

Its criteria are:

(1) represents a unique artistic achievement and a creative masterpiece of genius.

(2) It can have a significant impact on the development of architectural art, memorial art, planning or landscape design in a certain period or in a certain cultural region of the world.

(3) It can provide a unique or at least special witness for a disappearing civilization or cultural tradition.

(4) It can be used as an outstanding example of a building, a group of buildings or a landscape to show an important stage (or stages) in human history.

(5) It can be regarded as an outstanding example of traditional human habitation or use, representing one (or several) cultures, especially under the influence of irreversible changes.

(6) It has a direct and substantial connection with events of special universal significance or current traditions or ideas or beliefs or literary and artistic works (the Committee believes that this paragraph can only be the reason for listing in the catalogue under some special circumstances or when the standards work together with other standards).

Two. Natural heritability

From an aesthetic or scientific point of view, a natural feature consisting of geological and biological structures or such structural groups with outstanding and universal value.

From a scientific or conservation point of view, it has a prominent and universal geological and natural geographical structure, as well as a clearly defined habitat for endangered animal and plant species.

From the point of view of science, protection or natural beauty, a natural scenic spot or a clearly defined natural zone with outstanding and universal value.

Its criteria are:

(1) is an outstanding example, representing an important stage in the history of earth modernization.

(2) It constitutes an outstanding example representing important geological processes, biological evolution processes and the relationship between human beings and the natural environment.

(3) Unique, rare or wonderful natural phenomena, landforms or areas with rare natural beauty.

(4) Habitats of rare and endangered animals and plants.

Three. cultural landscape

The concept of cultural landscape was put forward at the16th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Santa Fe, USA in February, and was listed in the World Heritage List.

In this way, the world heritage is divided into: natural heritage, cultural heritage, the mixture of natural heritage and cultural heritage (that is, dual heritage) and cultural landscape. Cultural landscape represents the "works of nature and human beings" expressed in Article 1 of the Convention for the Protection of World Cultural and Natural Heritage. Generally speaking, there are the following types of cultural landscapes:

(1) The landscape intentionally designed and built by human beings. Including gardens and parks built for aesthetic reasons, they are often (but not always) associated with religious or other conceptual buildings or groups.

(2) The organic evolution of landscape. It originated from the initial social, economic, administrative and religious needs, and developed into the present form through the connection or adaptation with the surrounding natural environment. It also includes two subcategories: first, the remains (fossils) landscape represents an evolutionary process that has ended in a certain period in the past, whether it is sudden or gradual. They have outstanding and universal value because their distinctive features are still reflected in the physical objects. Secondly, the sustainable landscape, which maintains a positive social role in the local society related to the traditional lifestyle, is still in the process of its own evolution, and at the same time shows the physical evidence of its evolution and development in history.

(3) Relevant cultural landscape. This kind of landscape is listed in the World Heritage List, which is characterized by its connection with natural factors, strong religion, art or culture, rather than cultural material evidence. In addition, once the historical sites and natural landscapes listed in the World Heritage List are seriously threatened, they can be listed in the List of Endangered World Heritage after investigation and consideration by the World Heritage Committee, pending emergency rescue measures.

Four. Other forms of world heritage

1. Linear Heritage

Linear heritage: refers to the material and intangible cultural heritage groups in linear or strip areas with special cultural resources, and canals, highways and railway lines are all important forms of expression.

(1). China's linear heritage:

1. Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal

②. Silk Road

③ the way of the rise of Huizhou merchants.

④ Long March

(2). Foreign linear heritage:

(1).Thermolin Railway Company (Austria)

② Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (India)

2. Oral and intangible heritage of mankind

The oral and intangible heritage of mankind (referred to as intangible cultural heritage), also known as intangible heritage, is a concept relative to tangible heritage, that is, material heritage that can be passed down. Refers to various forms of traditional cultural expressions (such as folk activities, performing arts, traditional knowledge and skills, and related appliances, articles, handicrafts, etc.). ) and the cultural space closely related to people of all ethnic groups from generation to generation.

The International Convention for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage adopted on June 5438+ 10, 2003 points out that intangible cultural heritage should cover five aspects: 1. Oral legends and expressions, including language as a medium of intangible cultural heritage; 2. Performing arts; 3. Social customs, etiquette and festivals; 4. Knowledge and practice about nature and the universe; 5. Traditional handicraft skills. The convention also points out that the intangible meaning in the concept of intangible cultural heritage is opposite to the material production that meets people's basic material needs, and refers to the intangible meaning of spiritual production aimed at meeting people's spiritual needs. The so-called immateriality does not mean that it is insulated from matter, but refers to its creative activities and the crystallization of its spiritual field in the form of immateriality.

At present, China has a national intangible cultural heritage list, and it is necessary to enter the national intangible cultural heritage list to declare the representative works of the United Nations.

3. World Memory Heritage

World Memory, also known as World Memory Project or World Archives Heritage, is a document protection project initiated by UNESCO in 1992. Its purpose is to rescue the aged, damaged and disappeared documents all over the world through international cooperation and the best technical means, so as to make human memory more complete. The World Memory Heritage is an extension of the World Cultural Heritage Project. World cultural heritage focuses on buildings or sites with historical, artistic, archaeological, scientific or anthropological research value, while world memory heritage focuses on documentary heritage.

At present, China has been selected into the World Memory Heritage List, including four ancient books and documents of Naxi Dongba.

The World Memory Heritage List is an extension of the World Heritage Project.

4. World Agricultural Heritage

Since 2002, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the United Nations Development Programme and the Global Environment Facility have started to set up global important agricultural cultural heritage projects.

According to FAO's explanation, the world agricultural heritage is a part of the world cultural heritage, which is conceptually equivalent to the world cultural heritage. The World Agricultural Heritage Protection Project will protect the world's important threatened traditional agricultural cultural and technological heritage. The world agricultural cultural heritage is not only an outstanding landscape, but also plays an important role in preserving agricultural biodiversity with global significance, maintaining recoverable ecosystems and inheriting high-value traditional knowledge and cultural activities.