Podcasts about world heritage committee

This is a special episode talking about the newest UNESCO World Heritage cultural site: The Asuka and Fujiwara Ancient Capitals. This is particularly relevant as it is directly related to the history we are currently examining in this podcast. For more information, check out the blogpost at: https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-unesco  Rough Transcript: Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua, and this is a special episode on Japan's newest UNESCO world heritage site: the Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara. Rarely do I focus too much on current events in this podcast.  After all, we are still dealing with the events of the 7th century, and that is hardly "current" in any sense.  However, just last month, at the end of July 2026, the UNESCO World Heritage Convention met and made a ruling on inducting the Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara as one of the newest World Heritage sites. Given the obvious relevance of this to this podcast, I thought it was worth talking about. As such we'll go into a little history of the UNESCO world heritage convention, what it means, and how sites get added—or even removed—from the list.  And then we'll talk about the addition of the Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara, what is included in that description, and what part those various locations play in the story of Japan's history, which we've been laying out for the past several years.  Warning up front:  This is probably going to be a longer episode than usual, as there is a lot to cover, but it still didn't seem to make sense to break it up into two parts. Before we get into the background of UNESCO more generally, let's talk briefly about the news.  The Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fuijwara had been on UNESCO's tentative list since 2007, and following an on-site evaluation in September of 2025, the International Council on Monuments and Sites, or ICOMOS, made a recommendation in June 2026 that the property be inscribed on the World Heritage list. On 26 July, 2026, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee met in Busan, South Korea and accepted the recommendation.  This becomes Japan's 22nd cultural World Heritage site, and the 27th World Heritage property in Japan, since the World Heritage program is also inclusive of natural heritage sites, such as Yakushima, Amami-Ohoshima, the Ogasawara islands, and the mountainous regions of Shirakami-Sanchi, and Shiretoko, in Hokkaido. The recommendation for Asuka and Fujiwara was not just for a single site, but includes 19 individual sites and over 1,100 hectares of "buffer zone".  The individual sites are listed on the UNSECO World Heritage website as follows: •             Asuka Palace Site •             Asuka Pond Garden Site •             Asuka Water Clock Site •             Sakafuneishi Ritual Site •             Asuka-dera Temple Site •             Tachibana-dera Temple Site •             Yamada-dera Temple Site •             Kawara-dera Temple Site •             Hinokuma-dera Temple Site •             Ishibutai Mounded Tomb •             Shobuike Mounded Tomb •             Kengoshizuka Mounded Tomb •             Fujiwara Palace Site •             Daikandaiji Temple Site •             Motoyakushiji Temple Site •             Mounded Tomb of Emperor Temmu and Empress Jito •             Nakaoyama Mounded Tomb •             Kitora Mounded Tomb •             Takamatsuzuka Mounded Tomb So these are the specific locations, that were included in the single designation.   And these are how they are officially listed on the UNESCO World Heritage site in English, so for anyone who is going to comment that saying Asuka-dera Temple is redundant, because "Tera" already means "Temple", let's just not, shall we?  They are all in the Asuka and Kashihara area, and easily accessible, one from the other, so you can go and visit them if you would like.  I suspect that there is going to be a bit of push for that area in the coming tourist season as they now put up official UNESCO world heritage site markers.  And you may have noticed that a lot of these site names may sound very familiar, because the majority of them are places we've already mentioned on the podcast – but more on that later. But first, what does it mean to be a UNESCO World Heritage Site? UNESCO is the "United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization".  It was founded in 1945, with the stand-up of the UN itself, as a successor to the League of Nations' International Committee on Intellectual Cooperation.  That said, the idea of a "World Heritage Site" didn't come about until 1975, with the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, with the first sites being designated in 1978. Prior to this, UNESCO had been involved in various attempts to help preserve various monuments of historical significance.  They begin working with various museums and other organizations, and in 1965 UNESCO created ICOMOS, an international professional association to work towards the conservation and protection of cultural heritage.  A site designated as a World Heritage Site must be considered to be of "outstanding universal value" and can fall under one of two categories.  The first, and perhaps the one that most often comes to mind, are the cultural sites.  The second are natural sites considered of outstanding value.   With the 1975 convention, UNESCO had leaned heavily on ICOMOS as an advisory body regarding sites of particular cultural significance.  A similar body, the World Conservation Union, provides input on sites of natural significance. To be determined a World Heritage site, there is a set of ten criteria, and a site must meet at least one of the ten.  This means that a site must: i.            Represent a masterpiece of human creative genius ii.           Exhibit an important interchange of human values iii.          Bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization iv.           Illustrate a significant stage in human history v.            Be an outstanding example of a traditional human settlement, land-use, or sea-use vi.          Be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with artistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance; or it must vii.         Contain superlative natural phenomena viii.        Be an outstanding example representing major stages of earth's history ix.          Be an outstanding example representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of ecosystems and communities of plants and animals; or it must x.           Contain the most important and significant natural habitats for conservation of biological diversity. I abbreviated that list, but it gives you an idea of what the committee is looking for. To be placed on the list, a site must first be nominated.  Nominations are made by UN member countries and placed on a Tentative List.  From there, they can be selected into a Nomination File, which is then evaluated by the advisory organizations as appropriate.  The World Heritage committee meets once a year, at which time they may determine whether a nominated site will be added to the World Heritage list or if more information is needed. Having a site listed as an UNESCO world heritage site carries prestige and can drive tourism and revenue to help protect the site.  Members can request financial assistance with some conservation projects, and signatory nations are expected to contribute to the conservation of world heritage sites.  At the same time, the host country is expected to provide regular reports on the conditions of the site and efforts being undertaken to conserve it.  Should the situation change so that key aspects of the site's intrinsic value are lost, the World Heritage Committee may choose to revoke a designation.  This has only been done a few times, but it is always a possibility. All of this means that the Asuka and Fujiwara capital sites are now eligible for certain types of financial assistance and international aid to help further preserve and even restore certain aspects, such as the tomb murals in the Takamatsuzuka and Kitora kofun.  But let's talk about the sites that have actually been included, and to do that, we'll go through in roughly chronological order, based on the timeline that was given by Japan in the nomination documents, and what makes the most sense for narrative cohesion.   That said, it is important to note that the dates on the timeline in the UNESCO nominating document are where we first see mentions of the monuments, not necessarily when the temples were first constructed or anything like that.  If you want to learn more, check out the documentation submitted on the UNESCO world heritage website. And speaking of learning more, many of the sites we are about to discuss we have covered in previous episodes—though some more than others.  We'll call out relevant episodes as we can, but you can also find out more by searching on our website, sengokudaimyo.com, for more information about any of these topics. Let's start with Asukadera, or Asuka Temple.  The nominating document notes that it was completed in 596, though it had been started quite a bit earlier.  We discussed Askua-dera and many of the other temples back in episode 142, though Asuka-dera itself has been a part of the story since at least Episode 92, with the rise of Soga no Umako.  Asuka-dera, as you may recall, started off as a private temple for the Soga family, though they were so intertwined with the royal family that it almost didn't make a difference.  For the longest time it was the primary temple site at least in the Asuka region, and defined what Buddhism looked like early on.  Later it would be included as one of the Four Great Temples, and it would eventually move to Nara, though a temple would continue to operate on the site until the modern day.  That said, through fires and reduced patronage, the current temple is much reduced from its former glory.  Still, archeologies have found indications at the site demonstrating the true extent of the temple at the height of its power and influence, and how it truly played a key role in numerous events surrounding the building of a continental style state government. Speaking of the Soga family, the next site on the list, dated to 626, is Ishibutai kofun.  Ishibutai kofun was originally a square kofun, or Houfun, thought to be the resting place of Soga no Umako, the Grand Minister and head of the Soga family who led it to prominence in the age of Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tenno.  We talked about his passing in episode 103.  Excavations have suggested that the tomb took up an area about 85 meters to a side.  This included an outer moat and an inner, platform, about 50 meters square.  The burial chamber is a horizontal stone chamber created with impressive megaliths—a fancy word that just means "big stones".  In this case we are talking about stones that rival or even dwarf those at monuments like the famous Stonehenge, in England.  The stones are part of what give it its name, Ishibutai, or Stone Stage, because unlike in other kofun, these ones are exposed.  There is a theory that after the fall of the Soga family, and the deaths of Soga no Iruka and Soga no Emishi, the tomb was deliberately uncovered as a form of posthumous punishment. Because it is not a tomb under the care of the Imperial Household Agency, Ishibutai kofun has seen extensive excavation from 1933 to 1975.  That said, most of the funerary goods were likely stolen a long time ago.  There were some various bits and pieces found here and there—gilt and bronze implements and earthenware shards, but otherwise nothing truly significant.  They did find evidence of other tombs, nearby.  Perhaps ironically it seems that these other tombs were leveled to make room for Ishibutai kofun, making its own uncovering feel somewhat karmic, in a way. The next site, if we were to follow the timeline, is the Asuka Palace site.  This actually encompasses the site of at least four different palaces, which we discussed back in episode 134, with a blogpost showing the various palace remains, if you want to compare them.  In 630 we have the construction of the Okamoto Palace of Kashikiya Hime.  Then, in 643, we have the Itabuki Palace built for Takara Hime during her first reign as Kogyoku Tenno.  This was the location of the famous Isshi Incident, when Takara Hime's son, Naka no Oe, instituted the coup against Soga no Iruka and his father, killing Iruka in court in front of his mother.  For more on that, check out episode 106.  It was later used when she and Naka no Oe left the Toyosaki Naniwa Palace and returned to Asuka.  It may be during the time of the Itabuki Palace that another one of the monuments was built.  This is the Shobuike Kofun.  The nomination document doesn't give a precise date for this one, and we really only know for certain that it was built in the 7th century, but they place it on the timeline shortly after the events of 643.  Like Ishibutai kofun, it is a hofun, or square kofun, surrounded by a moat with a horizontal burial chamber.  At only 30 meters long, it is not as large or as prominent as Ishibutai Kofun, possibly indicating that the occupants were not as prominent or that kofun building as a whole was falling out of fashion.  Inside, there were two stone coffins, in the "house shape", meaning the lid had a peaked roof appearance.  In addition, the interior of the coffins was lacquered, making these unique in the archipelago.  Finally, perhaps as is the case with Ishibutai kofun, the mound appears to have been deliberately dismantled at some point in the early 8th century, when Fujiwara-kyo was still the capital. We do not know who was buried at Shobuike Kofun, but there are two theories.  One theory proposes that, given the unique features, it may have been a member of the royal family.  Another theory suggests that it may be a tomb for members of the Soga family.  This theory is connected to the idea that Ishibutai is the tomb of Soga no Umako.  Given its shape and similarities, perhaps this tomb is for a relative?  In addition, though not part of the World Heritage Site nomination, there is a nearby square kofun known as Koyamada Kofun.  There is a theory that this other tomb might also have been a royal tomb—perhaps even a first burial for Tamura no Ohokimi, aka Jomei Tenno.  However, there is another theory that these two tombs, together, make up the tombs of Soga no Emishi and Soga no Iruka.  That would explain them both being of similar shapes, and similar to the kofun thought to be that of Soga no Umako.  It could also explain why Shobuike kofun was later destroyed, like with Ishibutai Kofun. Shortly after Shobuike Kofun was thought to have been built, the court moved to Naniwa for a time, before eventually returning to the Itabuki Palace.  Then, in 656, we have the Nochi-no-Okamoto Palace, aka the Later Okamoto Palace, built after the Itabuki palace burned down.  It was repurposed by Ohoama when he brought the court back from Ohotsu, and then expanded with the Ebinoko Enclosure, among other changes, turning it into the Kiyomihara palace, where Ohoama and then Uno no Sarara ruled until the completion of the Fujiwara Palace around 694. Around the same time as the Later Okamoto Palace was the construction of the Sakafuneishi Ritual Site.  This site is located on a hill on the east side of the Asuka valley, overlooking the Asuka palace site.  There they have found stone walls, a strange carved stone with channels for what appears to be water or liquid for some kind of ritual purpose, and, towards the bottom of the hill, a stone turtle basin and water spout that appears to have once been connected to a spring.  Of all of the included sites, this is perhaps the most enigmatic in terms of how it was used and what was going on there.  It is likely that this is what is referred to in the Chronicle as the Tou no Mine site, where it is said that they built an enclosure encircling two tsuki trees, calling the site the Futatsuki Palace.  That said, today the name "tou-no-mine" is applied to a peak some distance further up the valley and into the mountains, and I do not believe that any concrete evidence of a "palace" has been found at either location.  Still, it demonstrates that there was something going on that was important enough to build walls and create intricate stone carvings—not something we necessarily find everywhere, though they are particularly prolific in the Asuka region once you consider all the various stone carvings that have been located there.  Current thinking seems to suggest that it was a site where sovereigns from Kashikiya Hime through Uno no Sarara conducted rites associated with ascension to the throne.  The walls show evidence of being built earlier in the 7th century, which we discussed in Episode 118, and then damaged during the incredibly powerful Nankai earthquake during the Hakuho era.  We talked about this earthquake back in episode 139, along with other natural disasters.  This was an earthquake of immense power, known as a Nankai Megathrust Earthquake, that caused destruction across the archipelago, from Shikoku up through the Kanto region.  Walls show evidence of being repaired in Temmu's time and the site appears to have been in use up through the 9th century.  This means it was still being used in some capacity even after the court had moved up to Heian-kyo, in modern Kyoto, but who knows by whom. By the way, I feel like I should address something here.  Often times there is a bit of an archaeological joke that if you don't know what something is it gets termed a "ritual site" or a "ritual implement".  And, granted, "ritual" does not necessarily mean "religious".  Brushing your teeth each day could be considered a ritual.  So is the inauguration of a new president or prime minister.  It just refers to something that we do regularly, usually as part of a societal tradition.  Often it is symbolic, though sometimes it can have a greater function.  So in all likelihood whatever was happening at the Sakafuneishi site probably was a kind of "ritual", whether it was religious or not, but we just don't have enough info to know what that might have looked like.  The physical evidence does not conform to any other well known practice, so we are left guessing. Compare this to another "ritual" site, the next on our list:  The Mizuochi site.  When it was first discovered in 1972, it was clear that it was important.  There was a large building foundation, in the shape of a square podium, faced with paving stones.  It was also near to Asukadera and the location where various stone figures had been found at the turn of the century.  It would take several more years to discern enough features to come to the realization of what it was for.  This was due to the discovery of highly unusual features and artifacts. For instance, there is the central building, designated SB200.  It had pillars set on base stones, forming a grid pattern in a square—four spans long on each side.  This is unusual compared to other buildings on the site, which had more conventional pillars embedded in the ground.  Each span of the pillars at SB200 was a uniform distance.  The podium on which the building was placed was just under 11 meters on each side, and a little more than a meter in height.  The pillar bases were further strengthened under the floor level, meaning that the resulting structure would have been remarkably sturdy.  In the center of the building was a stone platform, set about a meter below the surface, where they found the remains of a large and small lacquered wooden boxes.  Around the platform were buried wooden culverts and copper pipes, which would have been able to carry water to and from the site. There was nothing else like this discovered anywhere else, but given the nature of everything, it seemed to make sense that this was the site of the clepsydra, the water clock, which Naka no Oe is said to have built.  Pottery shards from around the 650s and 660s seem to back up this identification, and simulations have demonstrated how the water clock may have actually worked.  As such, the site seems to have been fairly well identified, which is really remarkable, and provides an incredible link to that era.  Not only that, but the technology demonstrated was incredibly advanced for its time.  As such, it truly is a remarkable site.  For more, check out Episode 127, where we talked more in depth about the importance of time and direction in Ancient Yamato. The next site on the list is the Kengoshizuka Kofun.  This mounded tomb is said to have been built around 667 CE—around the time that Yamato was supporting Baekje in a failed attempt to stave off that country's destruction at the hands of the Silla-Tang alliance.  This is an octagonal shaped kofun—a shape which is thought to have only been used by members of the royal family.  The academic position is that this is the tomb of Takara Hime—aka Saimei Tennou—who had died just as Yamato was starting to send troops to the Korean peninsula.  This theory is at odds with the Imperial Household Agency, which has designated a different tomb—Kurumaki-Kenno Kofun—as Saimei Tennou's mausoleum The story as it is recounted in the Nihon Shoki goes something like this.  As Yamato was gathering forces to defend Baekje—see episodes 123 and 124 for what happened—Takara Hime passed away at the temporary court set up in Asakura, in modern Kyushu.   With Yamato just about to launch a military campaign, they couldn't also hold a royal funeral, so they had her body taken back to the Nara basin..  Takara Hime's remains were temporarily interred at the plain of the Asuka River—Asuka-gawara.  It wouldn't be until after the conflict was over—a little more than 5 years later—that she would be buried.  At that time, we are told that she was buried together with Royal Princess Hashibito, her sister-in-law, at Wochi Hill—little market hill—and that the royal granddaughter, Princess Ohota, was buried in front.  And indeed, the layout of Kengoshizuka Kofun  has space for two coffins, and the archeologists found evidence of another burial in "front" of the kofun.  So in all ways this  seems to accord with the Chronicles, though the Imperial Household Agency has not chosen to change its designation.  I suspect that if they did it might cause some issues due to the limits of what archaeologists are allowed to do with tombs designated as royal mausoleums. Kengoshizuka Kofun has been remarkably reconstructed, so that you can go and see what it probably looked like when it was first built.  Since it was not designated as an imperial mausoleum by the Imperial Household Agency, archaeologists were able to excavate Kengoshizuka, and they found some remarkable finds, including a particularly spectacular coffin fitting made of cloisonne hexagonal plates with images of flowers that were connected to each other.  There also appears to have been a coffin made with lacquered linen, rather than the stone or tuff coffins found elsewhere.  So that's Kengoshizuka Kofun.  That's #7 on our list.  Moving on to #8, on the timeline at 673, it is Kawara-dera, and I'm going to lump this in with Tachibana-dera, which is noted on the timeline at 680.  In fact, the nominating document proposes a much earlier timeline for the start of Tachibana-dera, starting in the 640s, with Kawara-dera in the 660s, about two decades later. These two temples sit across from one another, and at one time they appear to have been coupled together as a monastery and a nunnery.  In fact, the nominating documents call out Tachibana-dera as Japan's oldest nunnery. The actual founding of these two temples is somewhat in dispute.  Let me start with Tachibana-dera.  Tachibana-dera claims to have been founded by none other than the legendary Shotoku Taishi.  It is said that the land of Tachibana-dera was the area of the palace where Prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi, was born, and that in 606 he had the property turned into a temple.  As such, it claims to be one of seven major temples built by the Prince.  However, we don't have any actual documentation for the temple until it shows up in 680, due to the report of a fire.  We do see it in numerous poems in the Man'yoshu, which is one of the ways we can also tell that it was a nunnery. More information can be gleaned from the archaeological excavations at the site.  The original temple was clearly built on the same Baekje designs as others of that period.  In an interesting twist, it appears as though the temple was not oriented north to south, as others were, but rather it was oriented west to east.  This would have had it facing the royal palace, initially, in a configuration very similar to that of Shitennoji, in Osaka, or Yamadadera, which is also one of the sites included in UNESCO World Heritage designation. The original temple had a middle gate, a pagoda, a main hall—or kondo—and a lecture hall (Koudou).  It was surrounded by a walled corridor.  Some of the roof tiles that have been found appear to be from the first quarter of the 7th century, but there are many more from the mid-7th century, suggesting that full-scale construction wasn't carried out until that period.  None of the original buildings appear to have survived, though there is an Asuka era stone statue, as well as various important cultural properties that have been preserved, and excavations have given us an idea of what it looked like, originally. Compare that to Kawara-dera, which sits to the north of Tachibana-dera.  We've talked about Kawara-dera before, as it was eventually designated one of the four national temples.  It was clearly built at a later date than Tachibana-dera, though when, exactly, is still unclear. There is mention of a Kawara-dera in an entry for 653, but even then, the Chronicles note that may have actually been at Yamada-dera, on the other side of Asuka, indicating that even the Chroniclers weren't entirely sure.  That leaves the first clean mention of the temple at 673, in the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tenno.  There is a note, prior to this, in about 656, which talks about "Kawara no Miya", or the Kawara Palace. This is where Takara Hime briefly moved after the fires damaged the Itabuki Palace, which was rebuilt into the Later Okamoto Palace.  It is thought that Kawara-dera is on the site of that temporary palace, and it is possible that the building of that palace lent something to the eventual creation of Kawara-dera. Kawara-dera has a unique layout, known specifically as the Kawara-dera style temple layout.  Although the overall temple is built on a north-south axis, the west main hall faces east, towards the pagoda, in the southern courtyard.  There was then a central main hall, and then the northern courtyard, with the koudou, or lecture hall, facing south.  There is also evidence that the east gate was sizeable—possibly larger than the south gate.  If so, it may be that this temple, like Tachibana-dera, was also facing east—facing the palace—but it was, at the same time, also on the same north-south access as other buildings and facilities.  This almost seems like they were perhaps compromising between facing the palace and utilizing the continental idea of a north-south alignment.  I almost wonder if the pagoda and western kondou weren't first built and then someone decided to change the orientation mid-way through the building process.  Either way, it is definitely unique. Although Kawara-dera was designated as one of the four national temples, it is the only temple that was not eventually moved up to Heijo-kyo, or Nara, when the capital eventually moved up there.  There are numerous theories as to why, but regardless of that, it stayed in Asuka and was no longer considered a national temple.  Over time it declined, and repairs could not be maintained across the entire complex.  Today, a successor temple, Gufuku-ji, sits on the site, but it is much reduced.  Fortunately, you can still see many of the exposed footings and get an idea for just what this temple was like back in its heyday. Now since we've mentioned it, it is probably worth talking about Yamada-dera, which is also on the list.  Like the others, there is a small successor temple to the north, but most of the ancient Yamada-dera grounds are visible, and if you go out there you can clearly see where all the buildings were.  There are signs and raised platforms depicting where the various buildings were at, so you can easily see what was there.  Furthermore, if you check out the Asuka Historical Museum, they have a remarkably well-preserved section of one of the walls of the gallery from the temple, including some roof elements.  It appears to have fallen down during a fire, and other material must have fallen on top of it so that the fire could not consume that section, leaving it in incredible shape. Yamada-dera is part of the Hosso sect—that is the sect following the teachings of the monk Xuanzang.  We talked about Xuanzang, and the monks who studied with him, back in episodes 120 to 122.  It is said to have been founded by Soga no Kurayamada no Ishikawa no Maro.  He was a relative of Soga no Emishi who supported Prince Naka no Oe in his coup in 645.  Soga no Kurayamada eventually became Udaijin, or Minister of the Right, and he was essential in implementing the Taika reforms.  Long story short, he was slandered, and fled to Yamada-dera, which was still under construction.  Rather than being taken by government forces, he took his own life, as well as that of his wife and eight children.  You can listen to the whole story back in Episode 112.  All of that is said to have happened here at that temple, in the year 649.  Perhaps because of the stain of that incident, the temple construction appears to have been halted for a time.  It wouldn't be completed until 685, when Ohoama and his wife, Uno no Sarara, a direct descendant of Soga no Kurayamada, were on the throne. Finally, there is one more temple from this early period that is mentioned, and that is Hinokuma-dera.  Of all of the temples so far, this one we probably have mentioned the least in the main podcast.  Hinokuma-dera is located to the southwest of the main Asuka valley, south of the famous Takamatsuzuka kofun.  It is first mentioned in a record dated to 686.  That indicates it must have been built some time prior, and archaeological excavations seem to place it at the second half of the 7th century, with the pagoda and main hall being completed in the late 7th century.   The temple continued to be maintained through the 8th century, but declined after the Heian period when the pagoda and lecture hall collapsed.  In the early 20th century a local Shinto shrine was relocated here, and remains, today. Hinokuma-dera was built as a private temple by the Yamato no Aya.  The Yamato no Aya are an intriguing group of people.  The name "Aya" implies a group that was originally employed as weavers, a technology brought over from the continent.  Indeed, they are said to have been largely immigrants who came and brought the technology with them.  The Aya were broken into different groups, with the Yamato no Aya being one of the more powerful.  The name appears again and again in the Chronicles, though in the time of Ohoama they were put on notice as a clan.  We aren't told what they did, exactly.  They seem to have made their way back into the court's good graces over time, however. Hinokuma-dera is interesting in that it is much smaller than the other temples we have discussed, and the form is quite different.  It isn't organized along cardinal directions, but rather with the koudou, or lecture hall, in the northwest and the kondou, or main hall, in the southeast.  The pagoda was between the two, slightly off-center to the northeast, directly across from the main gate, which faced southwest.  This means that you would enter from the southwest into a large, rectangular courtyard.  You could be facing a pagoda near the rear wall, with a lecture hall to your left and the main image hall to your right.  This is compared to Baekje temples that were on the periphery of the Baekje capital, and this may have been in a similar situation.  Based on the surrounding geography, it appears that some of the choices may have been made to conform with local geologic features, such as the ridge that it is on. It is interesting, however, for its uniqueness, especially as a private temple that did not have the resources of the court.  There were probably quite a few of these kinds of temples that we just don't see or hear about in the record.  When the court moved, first up to Heijo-kyo, but later on to Heian-kyo, in modern Kyoto, the head of the Yamato no Aya no doubt moved as well, and that probably led to the temple's decline, over time. Speaking of the court, there is one more part of the Asuka court that we should touch on before we leave the era of the Asuka palace.  At some point, probably related to the Later Okamoto Palace, the court created a pond and garden.  This Asuka Pond Garden site is first mentioned in 685, though it likely existed for some time.  Evidence suggests that it was built around the same time as the later Okamoto Palace, so sometime around 656, and based on excavations, we know that there was a south and north pond, divided by a middle bank.  Water flowed from the south pond to the north pond through a wooden pipe in that middle bank.  The south pond had a pentagonal shape, about 65 meters long, east to west, and 55 meters wide, north to south.  It was only 30 cm at its deepest point, with two islands in the pond itself.  The north pond was 36 meters east to west and 52 meters north to south, and it was up to 4 meters deep.  There was a stone overflow channel that was built for water to flow back into the Asuka river.  There was also a stone fountain, like that found at the Sakafuneishi site, and evidence of buildings and a wall around the site.  There has also been analysis of seed pollen, indicating what kinds of vegetation might have been grown in the garden. This was a lavish area that was purpose-built for entertainments of various kinds.  This is the area that the royal family and various nobles likely adjourned to at the end of the day for relaxation and for various banquets and other such gatherings. Of course, not all the court proceedings were so joyful.  In 686, Ohoama died, and for the next couple of years the court business was taken up with eulogies and memorials.  This is also when they built the next site included in the list: The mounded tomb of Temmu Tennou and, eventually, Jitou Tennou.  The tomb is an octagonal kofun, similar to the Kengoshizuka kofun for Takara Hime.  It is built to the southwest of the Asuka basin, a fair distance from the palace.  However, this positioning also puts it directly south of the site of the new Fujiwara Palace.  As the Fujiwara capital and palace site had already been selected, they would have been able to build this tomb in relation to the future palace, creating a direct north-south link between the two.  It is also along the same ridgeline as the tomb of Kengoshizuka and the tomb attributed to Kinmei Tennou and Princess Kibi no Himemiko. The octagonal tomb was built in five tiers.  It is about 42 meters on a side, built with rammed earth and then covered, originally, with dressed stones, while the surrounding area was paved.  Ohoama was buried in a sealed stone burial chamber in a dry-lacquered linen-made coffin, similar to what was found, again, at Kengoshizuka.  Later, when Uno no Sarara passed away, her urn was added to the tomb. Speaking of that, I cannot believe I didn't mention this in the last episode on Queen Uno no Sarara, but yes, she was cremated.  In fact, she is the first Yamato sovereign to have been cremated in the Buddhist style, rather than to have her body buried intact.  Today, almost cremation is the default in Japan—to the point that it actually has caused some issues with people who, for religious reasons, request a different type of burial.  However, at this point, it was still somewhat new.   Prior to Buddhism, all indications are that bodies were simply buried.  Buddhism brought in the concept of at least four different types of funerary rites.  There is dosou, or earth burial, but there was also suisou, water burial; fuusou, wind—or "air"—burial; and then kasou, fire burial.  Suisou would be committing a body to water, and fuusou generally means leaving the body on a stand, out in the open, to allow the body to decompose while birds, ideally vultures, come and do their work.  Of these, "kasou", fire burial or cremation, is linked to the historical Buddha, whose physical body is said to have been cremated, with the bones and teeth left behind considered holy relics.  That Uno no Sarara requested cremation would seem to indicate her own support of Buddhism and Buddhist institutions. The tomb of Temmu and Jitou has remained largely intact—at least compared to some that we have discussed this episode-- but not inviolate.  Over time, the site was allowed to become overgrown with trees and other vegetation.  In 1235 the tomb was robbed and in 1881 it was officially designated as an Imperial Mausoleum by the Imperial Household Agency, which now manages the site.  You can approach up to a point, but the tomb itself is largely off-limits to the public. Speaking of Uno no Sarara's support of Buddhism, we've already talked about her connections to Yakushi-ji, the next site on our list.  This temple was commissioned by Ohoama when his wife, Uno no Sarara, grew unexpectedly ill in 680.  She did recover, and the temple would eventually be considered one of the four National temples of the Yamato state.  It appears to have been built—possibly shifted slightly—specifically in line with the new avenues being laid out for Fujiwara-kyo, the new capital, and it fits neatly into place, taking up an entire city block.  When the capital moved, the temple was also moved.  The new temple sits up near modern Nara, in the area known as Nishi-no-kyou—the West (side of the) capital.  For the new site, the court may have used some of the materials from the original temple, though there does seem to have been a continued presence at the Fujiwara capital site until the 11th century.  To avoid confusion, the temple in the old Fujiwara capital site is referred to as "Moto-Yakushiji", meaning the Real or Original Yakushi Temple. Yakushiji was commissioned in 680, but work on the temple wasn't completed until 698, four years after the move to the new Fujiwara Palace.  Key features at this time were its size and its double pagodas, rather than just the single pagoda common in earlier temples.  This mimicked temple innovations happening on the continent, and was later adopted by several temples in the new capital of Heijo-kyo. Another national temple from around this time, also included in the nomination letter, is Daikandaiji.  Like Yakushiji, this temple was a grand statement of the Yamato state's ambitions.  Both were large temples that would have stood out, and as national temples they were symbols of state power and authority in matters both secular and spiritual. We discussed all of this in a previous episode, Episode 142, where we covered the four national temples, so I don't want to belabor it too much other than to give a brief overview.  In summary, what we know as Daikandaiji today is very likely the old Kudara Ohodera,  Kudara, in this instance, being spelled with the same kanji as for "Baekje".  Kudara Ohodera was the largest of the Asuka and Fujiwara era temples.  Its pagoda was over 80 meters tall, one of the tallest in Yamato at that time, and the main hall rivaled that of the Daigokuden, the main hall of the Fujiwara palace.   It also appears to have been moved twice.  First it was moved from its original location closer to the Asuka palace.  And then it appears to have been shifted to align with the avenues of the new Fujiwara capital.  The name was also changed.  "Kudara Ohodera" likely referred to the location where the temple was first founded by Tamura, aka Jomei Tennou.  It was then moved to Asuka and took on the name "Takechi Ohodera", given its new location, but then was renamed to Ohotsukasa no Ohodera, the Great Temple of the High Officials, or something like that.  This same name, read with the on'yomi reading, becomes "Daikandaiji". The temple was later moved to Heijo-kyo, where it was renamed to "Daianji", which means something like the Temple of Great Safety or Protection.   There is another story that says that the temple actually originated in the Kumagori dojo created by the legendary Shotoku Taishi, but, like so many such stories, that may have been added later to increase the temple's prestige.  As with so many of these temples, when the move was made to Heijo-kyo, the temple lost its national status, but remained active.  Without the upkeep by the court, it eventually declined, finally disappearing almost entirely.  Remains were rediscovered in the Edo and Meiji period, with major excavations in the 1970s and 80s.  From this, there is evidence of fire, even before construction was completed.  Indeed, there is a record of fire in 711.  The temple was likely under construction for much of the period of the Fujiwara capital's existence. This is probably as good a point as any to talk about the Fujiwara Palace itself.  I would note that the World Heritage site designation only includes the palace site, and not the entire capital city of Fujiwara-kyo.  That is probably for the best, as findings have suggested that the ancient capital was built on a plan far grander that previously thought. Initially, it was believed that the Fujiwara capital was built similar to Heijo-kyo and Heian-kyo, which is to say that it was modeled after the Tang capital of Chang'an.  This model creates a rectangular city with the main palace complex at the far north of the city.  Lower classes are typically housed in the southern regions while upper classes and nobility are provided land in the northern areas of the city.  Part of the reason to believe that the city was laid out like this has to do with the three mountains:  Mt. Unebi, Mt. Miminashi, and Mt. Kagu.  If the palace were located at the northern end of the city, then the city would fit rather nicely in the plains between these three mountains.  However, it appears that the plans for Fujiwara-kyo were much grander, and it appears that the Fujiwara palace sat not at the northern top of the capital, but instead it was in the middle.  This more closely approximates the ideal Confucian model, which created a square city divided into nine districts with the palace in the center.  However, it also means that the city grid is interrupted by the mountains, particularly by Mt. Miminashi, in the north.  To cover all of that land would be untenable, and much of it has been built up or under cultivation for centuries.  Furthermore, it is unclear how built up Fujiwara-kyo ever was.  Imagine trying to just create a city from scratch.  Not only was it about building the temples and the palace, but about all of the other houses, which would have been organized by the individual owners.  One also has to wonder just how many workers there were, and materials, to do all of this.  If much of this was done as traditional wooden buildings, then many of the blocks may not have left any significant remains, though new construction in the area does perform exploratory archaeology just in case.  There are a lot of interesting features that have been found. However, let's focus just on the Fujiwara Palace.  As I've previously pointed out—just back in Episode 152, for example, the Fujiwara Palace was, in many ways, getting back to the type of palace that the Toyosaki Naniwa Palace had tried to be.  This was a massive State complex.  The overall property appears to have been a square, with nine gates—once again, mimicking the geometric perfection suggested in ancient sources.  That wall, which was defined by post-holes in the ground, was also surrounded by a moat.  The south central gate was known as the Suzaku-mon, or Suzaku gate, named for Suzaku, the crimson bird of the south.  This was at the north end of Suzaku Oji, or Suzaku Avenue, the central road of the Fujiwara capital. This road was 24 meters wide, with 4 meter ditches on either side.  The ditches would have carried water throughout the city, while also allowing the city to drain water during large rains.  From the Suzaku gate to the north the palace opened up to the first courtyard, with two building where officials could prepare for the day.  Originally this would have been the place for officials to change into their formal robes, though later they were commanded to show up to work already dressed.  From there, once it opened, they would pass through another gate into the Choudouin, or State Hall.  Here, the 8 bureaus, or ministries, each had a Choudou, or court hall, where they would perform their work.  There were also four other halls for other governmental work. Besides the southern gate, there were gates on the east and west, which led to further government offices to the west and east of the court.  A fourth gate, at the north end of the Choudouin enclosure, would lead to the Daigokuden, the Great Audience Hall.  This was part of a reduced enclosure.  Two buildings have been discovered to the east and west of the enclosure, and north of the enclosure would have led to the private quarters of the sovereign and their family. The government buildings are more obvious than some others—many of the buildings were built in the continental style, meaning with stone footings, leaving a lot of evidence of their existence.  Meanwhile, the buildings of the sovereign's private residence were likely still in the indigenous style—plain wood with posts sunk directly into the ground, and thatched roof.  That would all leave a lot fewer traces, not to say that they haven't ever found anything. Today, the Fujiwara Palace site is a large open area where many of the features that have been found are indicated with modern crimson colored pillars, demonstrating where the various pillars were found.  At the same time, any above-ground reconstructions would have be conjectural, as we don't have enough remaining to know exactly what the palace looked like beyond the pillar locations. This palace and the city was ambitious.  It was huge and clearly meant as a permanent capital.  The fact that it was only occupied until about 710, when the capital moved north, to Heijou-kyou, is something we'll talk about in a later episode.  But still, it was absolutely an incredible move.  Think of how much labor this took and what kind of costs were involved?  This was truly a flex of the state's ability to mobilize labor to be able to do all of this, and generally marks the moment where the Yamato government really came into its own.  It also marks the period where the name "Yamato" is thought to have been officially changed to refer to "Nihon", the "Origin of the Sun", the name by which Japan would be known ever since.  It really is a symbol of Japan's changing state. There are only three more monuments included in the World Heritage Site designation, and they are all tombs. The first is Nakaoyama Kofun.  This is another octagonal kofun, approximately 19.5 meters from one side to the other.  It is only three tiers, as opposed to the five tiers of the tomb of Temmu and Jitou, and similarly covered in stone and surrounded by stone pavement.  The sealed burial chamber is narrow—designed for an urn rather than for a full-body coffin.  This is the first such mound clearly built to accommodate Buddhist style cremation, rather than a coffin.  While the keyhole shaped kofun had stopped being utilized for some time, this appears to put the final seal on the coffin, as it were, of the kofun building period, which had started back in the mid-3rd century.  Certainly, royal tombs continued to be built in the form of mountains, but they would stop having the same kind of artificial mound. It is unclear who was buried in the mound.  It was plundered around the 13th century, and there was considerable damage noted in the Edo period.  However, given Kengoshizuka Kofun and the kofun of Temmu and Jitou Tennou, it seems hard to deny the general consensus that this is the tomb of none other than Karu—that is to say Monmu Tennou.  However, as with Kengoshizuka Kofun, the Imperial Household Agency has named a different kofun, that of Kurihara-tsuka'ana Kofun, slightly to the south of Nakaoyama.  I would note that while this is an octagonal kofun, similar to the others we have seen, the Kurihara kofun, aka the Hinokuma Anko Misasagi, is a round kofun, which, in the consideration of modern scholarship, is not generally thought to have been a shape used for a royal tomb. There are two other tombs on the world heritage list that are round tombs, however—though they are not thought to have been royal tombs.  These are the Takamatsuzuka and Kitora kofun, and both of them have incredible features that are considered of particular importance to the indication of the development of the state.  This is because in both tombs elaborate tomb mural paintings were discovered. The murals of the Kitora kofun are perhaps the simpler between the two.  The Kitora murals have the four directional guardians on the walls of the tomb.  Again, we talked about this back in episode 127.  It was the idea that there was a directional guardian for each of the four cardinal directions.  This includes Genbu, the black tortoise of the north; Byakkou, the White Tiger of the West; Seiryuu, the Blue (or green) Dragon of the East; and Suzaku, the Red Bird of the South.  These descriptions were heavily tied in with various continental ideas of what would be known as "feng shui", including different ideas of color, direction, and concepts of yin and yang.  The Kitora kofun clearly shows these four guardians.  Based on the style of the tomb and the paintings, it is assumed that this tomb was built in the very beginning of the 8th century.  Combined with tomb goods found, while we don't know who was buried there it is very likely that it was either a royal prince or high ranking noble.  It has been suggested that this could have been the tomb for the Minister of the Right, others have suggested that it could be Royal Prince Takechi, who died in the late 7th century, or possibly even a high ranking member of the Baekje nobility living in the archipelago since the fall of their country, given some of the continental features of the tomb and its murals. In addition to the spectacular directional guardians, on the ceiling of Kitora Kofun is a depiction of the stars.  This star chart has been the focus of considerable study, as it depicts the stars in the sky as they might have been seen from the ground.  Though there are some errors, it is remarkably accurate, and it has been heralded as the oldest such star chart in the world.  There are earlier depictions of the sky, like the Nebra Sky Disc, from modern Nebra, in Germany, which dates to about 1800-1600 BCE, but those are more like an astronomical rule, rather than a chart.  It is also interesting that the positions of the stars don't exactly correspond with the sky over the Fujiwara capital: instead, it seems that the latitude better fits with the capital of Pyongyang in Goguryeo.  This opens up lots of intriguing possibilities about how this star chart came to be, and who created it.  It may be that some of the errors we see in the star positions come from taking a star chart possibly from the Tang court, and then localizing it to the Goguryeo capital in Pyongyang.  That chart then appears to have made its way to Japan where it was used in the Kitora kofun.  That means that the artist  wasn't necessarily directly looking at the sky at the time, but rather looking at a depiction, probably drawn on paper which has since been lost.  All of this points to the availability of, and importance placed on, astronomical information at the time.  In the Takamatsuzuka Kofun we similarly have directional animals, although in that case Suzaku, in the south, has been lost.  There is also a depiction of the stars, though it is more based on the zodiac, with constellations depicted in the various "houses" of the sky, rather than a true chart of the sky.  Most significantly in this tomb, however, are depictions of courtiers – groups of male and female attendance - in what appears to be court clothing, and indeed this is the best depiction we have of what court clothing may have looked like at this time.  It very much is in keeping with the clothing we see on the continent.  It is possible that the clothing depicted is not actually what was in use in the court, but possibly clothing from the continent as it was depicted in drawings and the like.   However, the style of clothing does seem to match the continental style clothing we see later in the Nara period, and so it does seem to be our best source for the clothing of the time barring us finding actual garments or further depictions. Both of these tombs are stunning, and have greatly increased our knowledge of the world of the court of 8th century Japan.  However, they are also both extremely fragile and in need of conservation.  Since being opened, humidity levels in the tombs have risen, which has led to the deterioration of the paintings themselves.  Japanese historians and conservators have gone to great lengths to preserve what they could before any more was lost, and there are depictions of what they looked like when they were originally found.  One of the goals of the World Heritage determination appears to be the conservation of these incredible paintings for future generations to be able to see. And there you have it.  Those are the sites  that were recently listed together on the UNESCO World Heritage list as the Ancient Capitals of Asuka and Fujiwara.  I hope that everyone gets a chance to go see them in person some day—it really is a beautiful and rather bucolic area with history strewn all about.  It isn't difficult to walk most of it, either, though to see everything you probably want at least a couple of days, not including various museums and other institutions.  And, of course, the rest of the Nara basin is full of even more treasures, such as Horyuji temple, the Makimuku Palace site, Mt. Miwa, and then the ancient capital of Nara, just to name a few. But that will have to be for another day.  For now, I think I've gone on long enough.  This has been a bit longer than most episodes, so I hope that you enjoyed it.  We'll be back with our regularly scheduled episodes in a couple of weeks. Until then if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through either our Ko-Fi or BuyMeACoffee sites—just look up SengokuDaimyo. For all of that, you can also find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, you may have noticed that there are advertisements running on the podcast—that is so that we can keep this free to everyone, but if you want an ad-free version, we have uploaded our entire back-catalog to Patreon, where we will be releasing early and ad-free episodes for anyone who wants to sign up. Finally, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.

The Great Barrier Reef has just experienced its worst summer on record, with cyclones, severe rainfall, flooding, and its most extreme coral bleaching event ever. The World Heritage Committee has expressed concerns that the Australian Government isn't doing enough to protect the Reef, particularly regarding its climate policies, and advised the Reef may face a possible 'In Danger' listing. To explain what that means and what we need to do about it, our guest this week is Reef and World Heritage Expert Dr Jon Day.YOU CAN HELP Sign the Petition, asking the Australian Government for stronger policies to protect the Great Barrier Reef. Support Word on the Reef on Patreon Follow @WordOnTheReefPodcast on Instagram If you'd like to ask a question, be a guest on the podcast or suggest a topic, contact: info@wordonthereef.org

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee added 24 new sites to their list for 2024. From a Scottish bog to a crucial stop for migratory birds in China, we take a look at some of the world's newest protected sites. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

UNESCO's World Heritage Committee added 24 new sites to their list for 2024. From a Scottish bog to a crucial stop for migratory birds in China, we take a look at some of the world's newest protected sites. PBS News is supported by - https://www.pbs.org/newshour/about/funders

A centuries-old example of Chinese urban planning and architecture has received global recognition.我国中国历代古都中轴线的集大成者和建筑典范获得了全球认可。 The 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi, India, announced on Saturday that the Beijing Central Axis — "A Building Ensemble Exhibiting the Ideal Order of the Chinese Capital" — has been inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List, becoming China's 59th World Heritage Site.7月27日，在印度首都新德里举行的联合国教科文组织第46届世界遗产大会上，我国申报的“北京中轴线——中国理想都城秩序的杰作”被正式列入《世界遗产名录》，截至目前，我国世界遗产数量达到59项。 The Central Axis in Beijing is an ensemble of palaces, public buildings and gardens that governs the overall layout of the old city area of the Chinese capital.北京中轴线是由宫殿、公共建筑和园林组成的综合体，管理着老北京的整体布局。 Stretching 7.8 kilometers north to south through the heart of Beijing, the newly inscribed World Heritage Site comprises 15 components. At the northern end of the axis are the Bell Tower and Drum Tower. It then runs south through Wanning Bridge, Jingshan Hill, the Forbidden City, the Upright Gate, the Tian'anmen Gate, the Outer Jinshui Bridges, the Tian'anmen Square Complex, the Zhengyangmen Gate, the Southern Section Road Archaeological Sites, before terminating at the Yongdingmen Gate at the southern end. The Imperial Ancestral Temple, the Altar of Land and Grain, the Temple of Heaven, and the Altar of the God of Agriculture are located on the east and west sides of the Axis.北京中轴线北起钟鼓楼，南至永定门，全长7.8公里，包含15处遗产构成要素。轴线的北端是钟楼和鼓楼。从这里出发，径直向南，可依次穿越万宁桥、景山、故宫、端门、天安门、外金水桥、天安门广场及建筑群、正阳门、中轴线南段道路遗存，直至永定门。全程7.8公里的中轴线两侧，闻名世界的文物古建鳞次栉比，蔚为大观。 The complex comprises imperial palaces and gardens, imperial sacrificial buildings, ancient city management facilities, national ceremonial and public buildings and remains of the original central axis roads.该建筑群包括皇宫和园林、皇家祭祀建筑、古城管理设施、国家仪式和公共建筑，以及中轴线道路遗迹。 "It is an important symbol that embodies prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization, highlighting Beijing's exceptional status among the famous ancient capitals of the world," Li Qun, director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, said in an interview with China Global Television Network on Saturday in New Delhi. "It has had a profound impact on the history of urban planning and construction worldwide and serves as a Chinese case for the preservation and sustainable protection of ancient capitals," Li added.7月27日，国家文物局局长李群在新德里接受中国国际电视台采访时说：“这是一个重要的象征，体现了中华文明的突出特征，突显了北京在世界著名古都中的特殊地位。北京中轴线对世界城市规划和建设产生了深远的影响，是中国保护古都的典范。” Construction of the Central Axis began in the 13th century and was completed in the 16th century. It has undergone constant refinement over the past centuries and continues to influence Beijing's urban development to this day.北京中轴线的建设始于13世纪，16世纪成型。在过去七个世纪中，它不断得到完善，至今仍在影响着北京的城市发展。The World Heritage Committee acknowledged that the Central Axis in Beijing meets the World Heritage List selectioncriteria No 3 and No 4: It bears unique or exceptional testimony to a cultural tradition or to a civilization that is living or has disappeared, and is an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape that illustrates significant stage or stages in human history.世界遗产委员会承认，北京中轴线符合《世界遗产名录》评选标准的第3、4条：能为一种已消逝的文明或文化传统提供一种独特的至少是特殊的见证；可作为一种建筑或建筑群或景观的杰出范例，展示出人类历史上一个(或几个)重要阶段； Ernesto Ottone, UNESCO's assistant director-general for culture, speaking at a celebratory event in New Delhi later on Saturday, said that Beijing's intricate urban planning draws inspiration from Confucian philosophy with a history spanning thousands of years and which flourishes even today. The preservation and design of urban heritage are not only about protecting the past but also about constructing a better future, he added.7月27日晚，联合国教科文组织文化助理总干事埃内斯托·奥托内（Ernesto Ottone）在新德里发表讲话时说，北京错综复杂的城市规划从数千年的儒家哲学中汲取灵感。城市遗产的保护和设计不仅是为了保护过去，更是为了建设一个更美好的未来。 According to the National Cultural Heritage Administration, the Central Axis in Beijing provides exceptional material testimony to the philosophy of "neutrality and harmony" prized in Chinese tradition. It is an outstanding example representing the mature stage of the urban central axis of Chinese capitals, and also the best-preserved capital central axis in China.中华人民共和国国家文物局表示，北京中轴线为中国传统中所珍视的“中和”哲学提供了非凡的物质证明。它是中国首都城市中轴线成熟阶段的杰出代表，也是中国保存最完好的首都中轴线。 " (The Beijing Central Axis) is the product of some of the best urban planning in history," said Christa Reicher, a professor at RWTH Aachen University in Germany and a UNESCO chair for cultural heritage and urbanism, in an interview with Xinhua. "It is regarded as the 'spine of the city's culture' and a magnet for tourists from all over the world."德国亚琛工业大学教授、联合国教科文组织文化遗产和城市规划教席克里斯塔·莱歇尔（Christa Reicher）在接受新华社采访时表示：“（北京中轴线）是历史上最好的城市规划的产物，被视为‘城市文化的脊梁'，吸引着来自世界各地的游客。” Lyu Zhou, director of the National Heritage Center at Tsinghua University, said that this paradigm of city planning can be traced back to Kaogongji (Book of Diverse Crafts), a section of the Confucian classic Rites of Zhou that was compiled more than 2,000 years ago. The milestone work outlines the rituals and order in the planning of a capital city.清华大学国家遗产中心主任吕舟表示，这种城市规划范例可以追溯到公元前221年之前编写的《考工记》，该书概述了首都规划中的礼仪和秩序。 The Forbidden City and the markets at the Bell Tower and Drum Tower area correspond to the book's account of "court in the front, market in the back". The tome speaks of "an ancestral temple on the left, an altar of land and grain on the right", which is reproduced in the Imperial Ancestral Temple and the Altar of Land and Grain, located symmetrically on the east and west sides of the Central Axis.书中的记载包括“前朝后市”，对应于紫禁城和钟鼓楼地区的市场，以及“左祖右社”，指的是位于中轴线东西两侧的太庙和社稷坛。 "It is a carrier of traditional Chinese concepts and beliefs, constructing a symbol for national order and witnessing the formation of the Chinese cultural tradition of inclusion and diversity," Lyu said.吕舟说：“北京中轴线是中国传统观念和信仰的载体，构建了国家秩序的象征，并见证了包容和多元的中国文化传统的形成。”Between 2020 and 2023, an action plan for comprehensive protection of the axis was put into practice. Various efforts including renovation of historical buildings, related archaeological research, improvement of the environment, and activities to encourage wide participation of the public in this process followed.我国2020年至2023年通过《北京中轴线保护管理规划（2022年—2035年）》（以下简称《规划》），随后，我国开展了各种措施，包括历史建筑的翻新、相关考古研究、环境改善及鼓励公众广泛参与相关活动。 "Through this process, the historical pattern and historical charm of the Central Axis in Beijing are gradually being restored and vividly reproduced, with continuous improvement in the living environment and urban landscape along the axis," said Chu Jianhao, deputy director of the Beijing Municipal Office for Conservation and Management of Beijing Central Axis.北京中轴线申遗保护工作办公室专职副主任褚建好说：“申遗过程中，北京市以中轴线申遗保护为抓手带动老城整体保护，带动重点文物、历史建筑腾退，强化文物保护和周边环境整治。” "The inscription marks a new starting point. China will adhere to the World Heritage Convention, and continue making efforts to protect and restore heritage buildings, mitigate the impact of natural disasters, encourage public participation, strategically guide tourism development, and improve the capabilities of property interpretation and presentation," Li from the National Cultural Heritage Administration vowed at the session in New Delhi on Saturday.李群表示，申遗成功是新的起点，中国将切实履行《保护世界文化和自然遗产公约》，在文物建筑保护修缮、应对自然灾害影响、鼓励社区居民参与、科学引导旅游发展、提高阐释展示能力等方面持续发力，确保“北京中轴线”得到妥善保护传承。"China will continue to coordinate the management and protection of World Heritage Sites, strengthen exchange and cooperation with international organizations and other signatory countries… and contribute to promoting cultural exchange and mutual learning and building a community with a shared future for mankind," he added.未来，中国将继续统筹做好世界文化遗产保护管理工作，进一步加强与国际组织和各缔约国的交流合作，借助亚洲文化遗产保护联盟平台，为推动文明交流互鉴、构建人类命运共同体贡献力量。 Various activities to celebrate the inscription of the Central Axis on the UNESCO World Heritage List were held across Beijing over the weekend.7月27日至28日，北京各区举行了多项活动，庆祝北京中轴线被列入联合国教科文组织世界遗产名录。UNESCOn.联合国教科文组织

The Emergence of Modern Human Behaviour: The Pleistocene Occupation Sites of South Africa" (EMHB) has been inscribed as World Heritage site.  Sport, Arts and Culture Minister, Gayton McKenzie announced the news YESTERDAY. McKenzie says this is a great moment for South Africa and the continent to have another site added to the prestigious World Heritage Listing.  The inscriptions were made at the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee in New Delhi in India. 

The Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er gained World Heritage Site status on the 45th Session of the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Sunday, becoming China's 57th entry on that list.周日（9月17日），“普洱景迈山古茶林文化景观”在沙特阿拉伯利雅得举行的联合国教科文组织第45届世界遗产大会列入《世界遗产名录》，中国世界遗产数量增至57项。It is also the first World Heritage Site with the theme of tea.这也是第一个以茶为主题的世界遗产。The newly-inscribed heritage site in Lancang Lahu autonomous county in Pu'er, Yunnan province contains 5 large-scale, well-preserved old tea forests - which are 1,250 to 1,500 meters above the sea level, 9 traditional villages scattered in these old forests, and mainly inhabited by Blang and Dai ethnic groups, as well as 3 protective separation forests in between.新增的世界遗产位于云南省普洱市澜沧拉祜族自治县，包括5片规模较大、保存完好的古茶林，海拔在1250米至1500米，9个传统村落散落在这些古茶林中，主要居住着布朗族和傣族，中间还有3片分隔防护林。The landscape was jointly created by ancestors of Blang people who immigrated to Jingmai Mountain in the 10th century AD and discovered and domesticated wild tea trees, as well as by the ancestors of Dai people.公元10世纪迁徙到景迈山的布朗族和傣族先民发现并驯化栽培了野生茶树，共同创造出这种景观。On the basis of longstanding practices, local people developed an under-story growing technique. That is to create ideal light conditions for the growing of tea trees through limited under-story cultivation while preventing insect hazards through the well-preserved forest ecosystem, so as to produce quality organic tea leaves without the application of pesticides and chemical fertilizers.通过长期摸索，当地人民创造了一种林下种植技术。这是为了通过有限的林下栽培为茶树的生长创造理想的光照条件，同时通过保存完好的森林生态系统防止病虫害，从而在不使用农药和化肥的情况下生产出高质量的有机茶叶。As UNESCO World Heritage Committee noted on the 45th Session: "(It) represents an exceptional testimony of the under-story tea cultivation traditions that enabled the development of a complementary spatial distribution of different land uses providing ecosystems and micro-climates that support both the cultivation of old tea forests and the well-being of communities residing in this organically evolved cultural landscape."正如联合国教科文组织第45届世界遗产大会所指出的：“（它）是地下茶叶种植传统的特殊证明，它在生态系统和微气候下使不同土地用途的互补空间分布得以发展，既培育了古茶林，也为居住在这一有机进化的文化景观中的人们带去福祉。”The committee noted that the cultural landscape is also an outstanding example of a sustainable land-use system based on a combination of horizontal and vertical land-use patterns.大会注意到，这种文化景观也是以横向和纵向土地利用模式相结合为基础的可持续土地利用系统的一个突出范例。It further stated: "This land-use system permits the complementary use of natural resources in the mountainous environment of Jingmai Mountain and represents an exceptional example of a human interaction by Blang and Dai peoples in a challenging environment."大会还表示：“这种土地利用模式互补利用了景迈山山区的自然资源，是布朗族和傣族人民共同创造的在具有挑战性环境中的独特范例。”Li Qun, director of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, vowed in Riyadh that China will strengthen efforts to better supervise the heritage site, face climate change, guide local communities to join in protection and regulate tourism to ensure lastingly inherited outstanding universal values of the old tea forests.国家文物局局长李群在利雅得表示，中国将更加努力，更好地监督管理遗产地，面对气候变化，引导当地人民参与保护，规范旅游，确保持久传承古茶林的突出普世价值。"We'll also advance international exchange and cooperation and take more responsibilities in the World Heritage circle," he said.他说：“我们也将推进国际交流与合作，在世界遗产界肩负更多的责任。”Chen Yaohua, director of World Heritage Research Center of Peking University who has led studies of the site in the past 12 years, said that the practice on Jingmai Mountain is quite unique in the context where large-scaled terraced tea plantations play a dominant role in today's world.近12年来研究该遗产的北京大学世界遗产研究中心主任陈耀华说，在当今世界大规模梯田茶种植园为主的背景下，景迈山的实践颇为独特。"It thus presents the ecological ethics and wisdom which can be critically inspiring for sustainable development of world today," Chen said.“它体现了生态伦理和智慧，对当今世界的可持续发展有非常重要的启发作用。”According to his research, about 10 percent of tea trees on the mountain are at least 100-years-old, and the oldest ones are over 300.据陈耀华研究，山上约10%的茶树至少有100年树龄，最古老的有300多棵。On Jingmai Mountain, indigenous communities also maintain ancient governance systems to protect the site, including traditional festivals and ceremonies related to Tea Ancestor, a belief that spirits live in forest as well as among local fauna and flora. Tea leaves contribute to over 90 percent of the income for those communities.景迈山上的原住民区也保持着保护该遗产的古老治理体系，包括与茶祖信仰有关的传统节日和仪式。茶祖信仰是一种存在于当地古茶林于动植物中的精神信仰。茶叶为这些地区贡献了90%以上的收入。Other than that, local governments of Yunnan province and Pu'er city released 3 laws and 7 regulations focusing on the protection of the cultural landscape on Jingmai Mountain.除此之外，云南省和普洱市地方政府围绕景迈山文化景观保护出台了3部法规和7条条例。The core zone of the World Heritage Site covers about 72 square kilometers on Jingmai Mountain. Its buffer zone spreads to about 120 square kilometers. The cultural landscape of old tea forests was first included in China's tentative list seeking for World Heritage status in 2012.世界遗产核心区覆盖景迈山约72平方公里，缓冲区约为120平方公里。古茶林文化景观于2012年首次进入中国申请世界遗产预备名单。Heritage英/'herɪtɪdʒ/美/'hɛrɪtɪdʒ/n.遗产

Good afternoon, I'm _____ with today's episode of EZ News. **Tai-Ex opening ** The Tai-Ex opened down 26-points this morning from Friday's close, at 16,893 on turnover of 3.3-billion N-T. The local main board traded higher on Friday, as other regional markets moved into positive territory, after China's central bank eased the reserve requirements for banks and chip designer Arm Holdings' I-P-O on the Nasdaq boosted investor optimism. **Electricity Price Freeze Expected to End for 880 businesses ** The Ministry of Economic Affairs' electricity price review committee is expected to end a freeze on electricity rates for over 800 businesses. Tai-Power says the freeze is likely to be ended during a meeting of the price review committee later today. The economics ministry raised power prices for industrial consumers by 15-per cent in July last year and by 17-per cent in April of this year. However, the ministry did not increase rates for businesses in the cinema, gym, department store, and catering (餐飲業、酒席承辦) and restaurant sectors, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on domestic demand. **MOEA Set to Budget NT$800 million to Develop Advanced IC Processes ** The Ministry of Economic Affairs is set to budget around 800-million N-T to subsidize smaller domestic I-C designers in the development of processes below 28 nanometers. The amount constitutes (構成) part of the 5.2-billion N-T the ministry is set to receive next year as part of a semiconductor industry innovation project proposed by the National Science and Technology Council. The Industrial Development Bureau says the funding aims to help domestic smaller I-C designers develop advanced I-C processes due to expected competition from China. **NY Thousands Take Part in Climate March ** Thousands of people took to the streets of New York on Sunday demanding an end to the use of fossil fuels (化石燃料) and for the U.S. to show greater leadership in the fight against climate change. Jody Jacobs reports from New York. < [CLIP] Slug: > **UN to List Jericho as World Heritage Site in Palestine ** A U.N. committee has voted to list prehistoric ruins near the ancient West Bank city of Jericho as a World Heritage Site in Palestine. The decision Sunday angered Israel, which controls the territory and does not recognize a Palestinian state. Jericho is one of the oldest continually inhabited (有人居住的) cities on earth, and is in a part of the Israeli-occupied West Bank that is administered by the internationally recognized Palestinian Authority. The listing refers to the Tell es-Sultan archaeological site nearby, which contains prehistoric ruins dating back to the ninth millennium B.C. and is outside the ancient city itself. The decision was made by the U.N. World Heritage Committee meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. That was the I.C.R.T. news, Check in again tomorrow for our simplified version of the news, uploaded every day in the afternoon. Enjoy the rest of your day, I'm _____.

Australia has welcomed UNESCO's draft decision not to declare the Great Barrier Reef "in danger" ahead of the World Heritage Committee's final vote in September. - वर्ल्ड हेरीटेज कमिटीले ग्रेट व्यारिअर रिफलाई तत्कालका लागि विश्व सम्पदा खतराको सुचीको नराख्ने निर्णय गरेको छ। यता सिड्नीको पश्चिममा बुधवार भएको गोलिकाण्डमा परेका एक जना पुरुषको गम्भीर अवस्थामा अस्पतालमा उपचार भइरहेको छ। फ्रान्समा भने एप्पल फोनको १२ संस्करणले हानिकारक रेडीएसन् फ्याँक्ने भन्दै यसको बिक्रीमा रोक लगाएको छ। अस्ट्रेलिया र विश्वमा यस हप्ता घटेका प्रमुख घटना साप्ताहिक समीक्षा 'विक्ली र्याप' अन्तर्गत सुन्नुहोस्।

Delegates will soon descend on Saudi Arabia for perhaps the most consequential meeting in UNESCO's history. With an extended agenda after last year's cancellation, it's the first World Heritage Committee meeting to be held in-person for four years. In this episode we examine the so-called ‘UNESCO effect' - and hear from entrepreneurs around Angkor Wat, in Cambodia, about the mixed consequences of its listing. We also hear from officials in Liverpool, in England, about UNESCO's decision to remove World Heritage status from the city's historic centre and docklands. Presenter / producer: Laura Heighton-Ginns Image: Angkor Wat; Credit: Getty Images

The Australian government welcomed a draft UNESCO decision to lift a threat of downgrading the Great Barrier Reef to an endangered World Heritage site. The U.N. cultural agency and the International Union for Conservation of Nature recommended in November of last year that the world's largest coral reef system be added to the List of World Heritage in Danger due to threats including rising ocean temperatures. But UNESCO issued an updated report in Paris that said it would be appropriate to re-evaluate whether the famed tourist attraction off Australia's northeast coast fitted the World Heritage in danger criteria. The report recommended Australia submit a progress report to the World Heritage Committee by February on its commitments to make environmental improvements. The World Heritage Committee will consider the draft recommendation in September. Marine ecologist Lissa Schindler said the UNESCO report found that Australia needed to do more to address climate change and water quality threats to the reef, including more ambitious greenhouse gas emission reduction targets. “I think that they've started off and done a really good job and there's more to do,” Schindler told Australian Broadcasting Corp. of the government's performance. Global warming is the greatest threat to coral reefs around the world. Heat stress causes coral to bleach, and bleaching events on the Great Barrier Reef in 2016, 2017 and 2020 damaged two-thirds of its coral. The latest UNESCO report noted data submitted by Australia in September last year showed the highest level of hard coral cover in the northern and central regions of the reef since monitoring began 36 years ago. In February, Australia for the first time rejected a coal mining application based on environmental law, with the new government citing the open-pit mine's potential harm to the nearby Great Barrier Reef. In July 2021, the previous government garnered enough international support to defer an attempt by UNESCO to list the reef as in danger. The Great Barrier Reef accounts for around 10% of the world's coral reef ecosystems. The network of more than 2,500 reefs covers 348,000 square kilometers (134,000 square miles). This article was provided by The Associated Press.

Australia will push back against being “singled out” by the World Heritage Committee seeking to have the Great Barrier Reef listed as “in danger”, as federal Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek urged green activists to work with Australia on this.  Queenslanders will be able to change their sex on their birth certificates without undergoing sexual reassignment surgery under new laws to be introduced by the Palaszczuk government.  Outback Wrangler star Matt Wright, has been charged in relation to a fatal helicopter crash that killed Chris “Willow” Wilson in February this year.  A Queensland Health director may be facing the sack after she tried to interfere in a recruitment process that would have benefited her partner.  For updates and breaking news throughout the day, take out a subscription at www.couriermail.com.au See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Where oh where would we be without surfing, to practice thinking thoughts, and where oh where would we be without this podcast, to call ourselves out for thinking the most silly ones. * And then occasionally - just occasionally - explore the environmental narrative of Australia just long enough to hear a big echoey thunk, and realise we've actually... struck pure+critical gold? Look, I don't want to toot my own horn with too many words here, but I called this one to a tee. * The EXACT scenario we projected a few episodes ago, about how suss it seemed that a "good news" research paper could come out about the Great Barrier Reef days before a vote in front of the World Heritage Committee, has played out EXACTLY how you and I discussed it could. FOI documents proving how vulnerable our scientific institutions are to budgetary intervention, and how high and dry that leaves us regular Aussies in the conservation of our most previous survival assets. * It's all a bit farked really, but still no reason not to have a laugh. THanks for listening and tell a mate please, thanks. --- first clip of KS pipe magic --> https://www.instagram.com/p/CTNFIbWIqrb/ --- VINDICATION! proof I'm not just full of shit and actually occasionally strike gold --> https://www.abc.net.au/news/2021-09-02/government-told-science-agency-to-rush-reef-report-release/100422190 --- *** --- IG @lucky__roland

EIA's Elephant Campaign Team has called for the Selous to be stripped of its World Heritage status due to the damage caused by construction of a massive hydropower project, but the World Heritage Committee stopped far short of taking such a step. Wildlife Campaigner Rachel Mackenna explains why we were pressing for delisting and talks about what actually happened at the meeting and what might be next for the Selous.

The Australian Government lobbied hard to member states of the World Heritage Committee to propose the ‘in danger' listing of the Great Barrier Reef. They were successful in their bid and the scientific community say the irrefutable evidence of damage to the reef suggests the decision is only postponing the inevitable. Reporter Emile Pavlich spoke to James Cook University's associate professor in environmental physics Scott Heron to find out more.   See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Last month UNESCO issued an assessment that the Great Barrier Reef should be placed on a list of endangered world heritage sites. However, on 23 July, following lobbying by the Australian government, the World Heritage Committee over-looked Unesco's assessment. So what does a marine biologist think? - Bulan lalu UNESCO mengeluarkan penilaian bahwa Great Barrier Reef harus ditempatkan dalam daftar situs warisan dunia yang terancam punah. Namun, pada 23 Juli, setelah lobi oleh pemerintah Australia, Komite Warisan Dunia mengabaikan penilaian Unesco. Namun apa yang dipikirkan oleh pakar biologi kelautan?

Flood-hit China region saw a year's worth of rain in under a week: WMO Liverpool's historic waterfront removed from UNESCO World Heritage List WHO chief backs Tokyo Olympic Games' ‘power to inspire'

This week, Unesco's World Heritage Committee will decide whether the Great Barrier Reef should be labelled ‘in danger'. If this happens, it will be the first time a natural world heritage site has received this status due to the impacts of climate change. Environment reporter Graham Readfearn explains how the Morrison government is turning to an old playbook to lobby against this move. He also explores what an ‘in danger' listing would mean for the future of the reef, and for Australia's approach to climate change

The 44th session of UNESCO's World Heritage Committee has adopted the Fuzhou Declaration, calling for closer international cooperation within the framework of multilateralism.

Cotton factories in Xinjiang say business has picked up this year thanks to new customers in the Chinese market. The Chinese economy grew by over 12 percent in the first half of 2021. And the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee is kicking off in Fuzhou.

The government's response to the UNESCO recommendation that the Great Barrier Reef be listed as "in danger" was one of surprise and shock. The recommendation will be considered at UNESCO's World Heritage Committee meeting next month.  While the proposal calls attention to the need to address the effect of climate change and other factors which are degrading  the reef, the government alleges it's part of wider global politics. Environment Minister Sussan Ley is adamant UNESCO's recommendation represents "international politics at play" which have "subverted the normal and proper process." In the background, the government points to China – which chairs the World heritage Committee – but Ley treads carefully. "Others can make judgements about what those international politics are..." "If the politicisation of a process that we have constructively contributed to for over 40 years is now going to be the norm, the points that I will make with the 21 member countries [on the committee] and others who might influence them is that this is the moment to reflect on what the World Heritage Committee is all about and consider the risk to your own properties. "Because if the entire system is politicised, then we aren't going to be acting in the interests of the natural heritage values of these places." Her opposition "shadow" Terri Butler wouldn't speculate on what might be underlying the decision but "Australians would be very disappointed if they thought there was anything behind the decision other than concern for the reef." "What's important here is for people to be able to have confidence in UNESCO in this decision making process." Butler says heading off the listing is important not just to avoid discouraging tourists from overseas but also for Australia's image on the global stage. "It's really important [the government] demonstrate to the world they're serious about protecting the reef, preserving it for future generations. And if they do that, they should also be in a position to fight really hard to avoid this particular listing. 

The federal government says it's been blindsided by a draft recommendation for UNESCO to list the Great Barrier Reef as "in danger", which will be formally considered when the World Heritage Committee meets next month. Environmentalists say Australia has been warned since 2015 it needed to show an improvement in the health of the reef to avoid the listing.

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is one of the most widely ratified international treaties, and a place on the World Heritage List is a widely coveted mark of distinction. Building on ethnographic fieldwork at Committee sessions, interviews and documentary study,  Christoph Brumann's book The Best We Share: Nation, Culture and World-Making in the UNESCO World Heritage Arena (Berghahn, 2021) links the change in operations of the World Heritage Committee with structural nation-centeredness, vulnerable procedures for evaluation, monitoring and decision-making, and loose heritage conceptions that have been inconsistently applied. Through richly textured ethnography that goes into the inner workings of one of the most powerful international organisations, The Best We Share is one of the most ambitious studies of the World Heritage arena and a crucial reading for anthropologists and scholars interested in the notion of ‘world-making' and workings behind global governance. Dr. Suvi Rautio is an anthropologist specializing in Chinese society and history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is one of the most widely ratified international treaties, and a place on the World Heritage List is a widely coveted mark of distinction. Building on ethnographic fieldwork at Committee sessions, interviews and documentary study,  Christoph Brumann's book The Best We Share: Nation, Culture and World-Making in the UNESCO World Heritage Arena (Berghahn, 2021) links the change in operations of the World Heritage Committee with structural nation-centeredness, vulnerable procedures for evaluation, monitoring and decision-making, and loose heritage conceptions that have been inconsistently applied. Through richly textured ethnography that goes into the inner workings of one of the most powerful international organisations, The Best We Share is one of the most ambitious studies of the World Heritage arena and a crucial reading for anthropologists and scholars interested in the notion of ‘world-making’ and workings behind global governance. Dr. Suvi Rautio is an anthropologist specializing in Chinese society and history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/public-policy

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is one of the most widely ratified international treaties, and a place on the World Heritage List is a widely coveted mark of distinction. Building on ethnographic fieldwork at Committee sessions, interviews and documentary study,  Christoph Brumann's book The Best We Share: Nation, Culture and World-Making in the UNESCO World Heritage Arena (Berghahn, 2021) links the change in operations of the World Heritage Committee with structural nation-centeredness, vulnerable procedures for evaluation, monitoring and decision-making, and loose heritage conceptions that have been inconsistently applied. Through richly textured ethnography that goes into the inner workings of one of the most powerful international organisations, The Best We Share is one of the most ambitious studies of the World Heritage arena and a crucial reading for anthropologists and scholars interested in the notion of ‘world-making’ and workings behind global governance. Dr. Suvi Rautio is an anthropologist specializing in Chinese society and history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/anthropology

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is one of the most widely ratified international treaties, and a place on the World Heritage List is a widely coveted mark of distinction. Building on ethnographic fieldwork at Committee sessions, interviews and documentary study,  Christoph Brumann's book The Best We Share: Nation, Culture and World-Making in the UNESCO World Heritage Arena (Berghahn, 2021) links the change in operations of the World Heritage Committee with structural nation-centeredness, vulnerable procedures for evaluation, monitoring and decision-making, and loose heritage conceptions that have been inconsistently applied. Through richly textured ethnography that goes into the inner workings of one of the most powerful international organisations, The Best We Share is one of the most ambitious studies of the World Heritage arena and a crucial reading for anthropologists and scholars interested in the notion of ‘world-making’ and workings behind global governance. Dr. Suvi Rautio is an anthropologist specializing in Chinese society and history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/sociology

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is one of the most widely ratified international treaties, and a place on the World Heritage List is a widely coveted mark of distinction. Building on ethnographic fieldwork at Committee sessions, interviews and documentary study,  Christoph Brumann's book The Best We Share: Nation, Culture and World-Making in the UNESCO World Heritage Arena (Berghahn, 2021) links the change in operations of the World Heritage Committee with structural nation-centeredness, vulnerable procedures for evaluation, monitoring and decision-making, and loose heritage conceptions that have been inconsistently applied. Through richly textured ethnography that goes into the inner workings of one of the most powerful international organisations, The Best We Share is one of the most ambitious studies of the World Heritage arena and a crucial reading for anthropologists and scholars interested in the notion of ‘world-making’ and workings behind global governance. Dr. Suvi Rautio is an anthropologist specializing in Chinese society and history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/world-affairs

The UNESCO World Heritage Convention is one of the most widely ratified international treaties, and a place on the World Heritage List is a widely coveted mark of distinction. Building on ethnographic fieldwork at Committee sessions, interviews and documentary study,  Christoph Brumann's book The Best We Share: Nation, Culture and World-Making in the UNESCO World Heritage Arena (Berghahn, 2021) links the change in operations of the World Heritage Committee with structural nation-centeredness, vulnerable procedures for evaluation, monitoring and decision-making, and loose heritage conceptions that have been inconsistently applied. Through richly textured ethnography that goes into the inner workings of one of the most powerful international organisations, The Best We Share is one of the most ambitious studies of the World Heritage arena and a crucial reading for anthropologists and scholars interested in the notion of ‘world-making’ and workings behind global governance. Dr. Suvi Rautio is an anthropologist specializing in Chinese society and history. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/new-books-network

今回は ＜The islands of southern Japan will be certified by the World Heritage Committee.（奄美・沖縄、世界自然遺産に登録へ。）＞ というニュースから、「World Heritage」を学びます。

完整文稿看周日微信第三条，你懂的呦~ This is NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing. Here is the news.A total of 24 radio and television entities from countries along the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road have signed a memorandum on broadcast cooperation.The countries include China, Cambodia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Tajikistan.Cooperation will feature visits by institution leaders, as well as program and personnel exchanges.China encourages media cooperation along the "Belt and Road", and called for the creation of a collaboration mechanism.China&`&s State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television said audiences will be exposed to varied information and culture, and increase understanding through broadcasting cooperation.Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the "Belt and Road" Initiative aims to revive the ancient trade routes between Asia and Europe, break infrastructure bottlenecks and boost efficient allocation of resources. This is NEWS Plus Special English.China will hold photo exhibitions in more than 150 countries and regions throughout August and September to mark the 70th anniversary of its World War II victory on Sept. 3.More than 300 historical pictures will be on display in order to underline the oriental battleground&`&s contribution to the victory of the world anti-fascist war.The exhibitions will be translated into six languages.Meanwhile, between July 15 and September 15, the People&`&s Liberation Army will stage an exhibition on the important role the Communist Party of China played in the war. The exhibition will be held in the Military Museum of the Chinese People&`&s Revolution in Beijing.This year marks the 70 anniversary of the end of the Second World War. Japan signed its formal surrender on Sept. 2, 1945, and China celebrated its victory the following day.A major military parade will be held on Sept. 3 at Beijing&`&s Tian&`&anmen Square to commemorate the event.China&`&s silver screens and theater stages will be dominated by war stories about Japan&`&s invasion of China in the early half of last century.War-themed stage performances, including symphonies, concerts, traditional operas and puppet shows will be staged nationwide from this month. This is NEWS Plus Special English.The Ministry of Education has named and shamed university employees who had broken regulations relating to "righteous life and work styles".The ministry named staff from three universities involved in five cases concerning travel expenses paid for with public funds, fraudulent retiree compensation claims, and accepting financial gifts at weddings.In one case, faculties under Tongji University&`&s School of Economics and Management were found to have financed an overseas visit with public funds in 2013.Punishments were meted out to violators, including disciplinary warnings.A rule on bureaucracy, formalism and extravagance was introduced at a meeting of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee at the end of 2012.You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I&`&m Liu Yan in Beijing.China&`&s first "Internet Plus" innovation and entrepreneurship contest for college students will take place between July and October.The Ministry of Education says the contest aims to encourage innovation and entrepreneurship and promote employment opportunities for college graduates.Applications are underway; and preliminary heats will be held between July and September, with the final in mid-October.Participants are encouraged to come up with ideas or programs related to the Internet; for example, how to combine the Internet with traditional industries, or using online platforms to provide public services.The contest will invite established entrepreneurs, investors, university teachers and higher education experts as judges to select around 300 teams and award funds for further developing their projects.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Wildlife advocates have cheered the removal of the Tibetan antelope from the endangered species list, but pledged to continue their protection efforts. Environment and animal protection authorities announced last month that the Tibetan antelope was no longer an endangered species.Thanks to effective protection efforts, there are now around 200,000 Tibetan antelopes in the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau area, and the population is steadily climbing.Tibetan antelopes mainly live in western China, including Qinghai Province, and Xinjiang and Tibet autonomous regions, with the majority living in northern Tibet.Poachers in search of the animal&`&s pelts resulted in the sharp decline of the antelope population in the 1990s. By the beginning of 2000, only 70,000 of them were left.Shahtoosh, ultra-soft shawl made of yarn from the down fur of the animal, can fetch upward of 40,000 U.S. dollars each. On average, it takes the hide of three antelopes to create one Shahtoosh.In 1996 and 1997, a total of more than 840 kilograms of yarn were seized by two customs offices in Lhasa, the regional capital of Tibet.This is NEWS Plus Special English.Tusi Sites, the remains of an ancient political system adopted by the central authorities to govern ethnic minority regions in southwest China, have been inscribed on the World Heritage List.The World Heritage Committee made the decision at its annual meeting in Germany, in recognition of the "universal value" reflected in the Sites.The Tusi Sites are located separately in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou provinces.Tusi means hereditary tribal headmen appointed by the central authorities to govern the often unruly ethnic minority regions in southwestern China.The committee said the system aimed at unifying national administration while simultaneously allowing ethnic minorities to retain their customs and way of life.The inscription of the Tusi Sites inz

完整文稿请小伙伴们关注今天的微信或登录： http://english.cri.cn/7146/2014/07/04/2582s834474.htm This is NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing. Here is the news.​ Train trips on the Beijing to Shanghai high-speed railway have surpassed 220 million since its debut three years ago.​ China's railway authorities say that daily average trips on the railway reached 230,000 last year; and the number climbed to 272,000 in the first half of this year.​ The more than 1,300-kilometer-long railway links the country's most prosperous economic zones, cutting travel time between Beijing and Shanghai to less than five hours.​ The railway is designed to handle maximum train speeds of 350 kilometers per hour. High-speed trains on this railway made their debut on June 30, 2011.​ This is NEWS Plus Special English.​ China's Tianhe-2, the world's fastest supercomputer, is boosting science and technological development at home and abroad.​ "Tianhe-2" retained its top spot for the third consecutive time on the biannual Top 500 list of supercomputers.​ An official with the National Supercomputer Center in Guangzhou in southern China says that the event represents a significant change from "Made in China" to "made with China's wisdom".​ "Tianhe-2" was developed by the National University of Defense Technology, and runs at almost 34 petaflops per second.​ Its computing capacity in one hour equals that of the 1.3 billion people in China calculating on calculators for 1,000 years.​ The supercomputer has been in commercial operation since April this year.​ Capable of handling high levels of analytical, computing and processing, the supercomputer is driving multiple industries and SciTech projects with secure high-speed development.​ It completed high-precision calculations of the external flow field around China's first home-made large passenger jet in only six days. It would have taken about two years without the supercomputer.​ In the medical field, the supercomputer enables doctors to gain a comprehensive understanding of certain diseases before surgery; and helps evaluate and reduce medical risks.​ The supercomputer has been used in the country's priority projects, covering energy, bioscience, pollution control and high-speed rail design.​ This is NEWS Plus Special English.​ Beijing saw an outbreak of hand-foot and mouth disease with more than 2,600 cases reported per week in the past few weeks. Beijing's disease prevention center says during the period between the last week of May and June 22nd, the number of weekly reported hand-foot and mouth cases increased from 2,600 to 3,000 in Beijing.​ The Beijing Disease Prevention and Control Center says although the number of cases increased compared with the same period last year, the number of critical or death cases were almost the same.​ The municipal health authorities say that hand-foot and mouth disease is a viral illness that usually affects infants and children younger than five. The disease starts with a slight fever followed by blisters and ulcers in the mouth and rashes on the hands and feet.​ The virus is usually transmitted through digestive and respiratory systems or through intimate contact.​ You are listening to NEWS Plus Special English. I'm Mark Griffiths in Beijing.​ The World Heritage Committee has added an extension of the South China Karst, a natural World Heritage Site since 2007, to the World Heritage List of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO.​ The extension covers a total area of over 1,000 square kilometers, and includes four sections all located in southwest China.​ Karst topography is a distinctive landscape formed by the dissolution of layers of soluble bedrock, such as limestone, dolomite and gypsum.​ It is characterized by underground systems such as sinkholes and caves. It may also result in a variety of large-or small-limestone pavements, karst valleys, flutes, and vertical shafts on the exposed surface.​ The World Heritage Committee, which was convening its 38th annual session in Doha, Qatar, added China's 2,400-year-old Grand Canal and a section of the ancient trade route Silk Road to the World Heritage List.​

This Friday June 29, in St. Petersburg Russia, UNESCO granted the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem endangered world heritage status. Welcome to Bible in the News this is David Billington with you. Thirteen of the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee voted in favour. The move was a very political one as the Church was designated an heritage site in "Palestine" and not in Israel. Palestine is a non-existant nation. This is part of the effort by the Palestinian Arabs to be recognized unilaterally as a member state of the United Nations.

This Friday June 29, in St. Petersburg Russia, UNESCO granted the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem endangered world heritage status. Welcome to Bible in the News this is David Billington with you. Thirteen of the 21 members of the World Heritage Committee voted in favour. The move was a very political one as the Church was designated an heritage site in "Palestine" and not in Israel. Palestine is a non-existant nation. This is part of the effort by the Palestinian Arabs to be recognized unilaterally as a member state of the United Nations.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com  about UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage List includes 890 sites from around the world which are part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having “outstanding universal value”. We talk about various sites as well as how to use this list as a resource in your travels.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com  about UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage List includes 890 sites from around the world which are part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having “outstanding universal value”. We talk about various sites as well as how to use this list as a resource in your travels.

The Amateur Traveler talks to Gary Arndt of Everything-Everywhere.com  about UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The World Heritage List includes 890 sites from around the world which are part of the cultural and natural heritage which the World Heritage Committee considers as having “outstanding universal value”. We talk about various sites as well as how to use this list as a resource in your travels.