The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries (UNESCO 2006) cover 924,500 hectares across the Qionglai and Jiajin ranges, supporting 30% of wild giant pandas. Mount Qingcheng and Dujiangyan are 90 km east (2h); Leshan Giant Buddha is 180 km south; Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan are 400 km southwest.
Mount Qingcheng (Taoist hermitage, 2nd century BCE) and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System (256 BCE, 1.5 million hectares) were jointly inscribed UNESCO World Heritage in 2000. Wolong Giant Panda Reserve is 90 km west; Leshan Giant Buddha is 150 km south by HSR.
Huanglong (UNESCO 1992) holds approximately 3,400 travertine pools at 3,400–5,100 metres elevation in Sichuan’s Minshan mountains. Jiuzhaigou Valley is 100 km south (2h); Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries and Dujiangyan are 200–350 km south via Chengdu.
The South China Karst (UNESCO 2007, extended 2014) covers four karst sub-types across Yunnan, Guizhou, Chongqing and Guangxi. The Zuojiang Huashan Rock Art is 300 km south of Guilin; the Dazu Rock Carvings are near the Wulong cluster; the Three Parallel Rivers are 500 km west of Kunming.
Kaiping Diaolou (UNESCO 2007) comprises 1,833 fortified towers built by overseas Chinese emigrants in Guangdong between the 1880s and 1940s. South China Karst/Guilin is 400 km west by 4h HSR; Gulangyu Island in Xiamen is 500 km northeast by 5h HSR; Macao is 300 km south by 3h bus and ferry.
The Ming and Qing Imperial Tombs (UNESCO 2000) form a serial inscription including 13 Ming tombs near Beijing and Qing precincts 125 km apart. The Forbidden City is 50 km south; the Great Wall at Badaling is 70 km northwest; Chengde Mountain Resort is 200 km northeast by 2.5h HSR.
Mount Wutai (UNESCO 2009), a 53-monastery plateau at up to 3,058 metres in Shanxi, contains the Foguang Temple, China’s oldest timber-frame building dated to 857 CE. Yungang Grottoes at Datong are 190 km northwest; the Ancient City of Pingyao is 250 km south; Chengde Mountain Resort is 300 km east.
Wudang Mountains (UNESCO 1994) preserve 53 Taoist structures across 72 peaks built with 300,000 workers under the Yongle Emperor from 1412. Shennongjia forest reserve is 300 km west; Longmen Grottoes at Luoyang are 400 km northeast by HSR; Dazu Rock Carvings are 600 km west via Chongqing.
The Potala Palace UNESCO inscription covers three Lhasa sites: the Palace itself (13 storeys, 3,717 kg of gold in gilded stupas), Jokhang Temple 0.6 km east and Norbulingka Summer Palace 2.5 km west. Access requires a Tibet Travel Permit obtained through a registered agency.
Chengde Mountain Resort (UNESCO 1994) covers 5.6 sq km and served as the Qing summer capital from 1703; its 8 outlying temples were designed to impress Mongolian and Tibetan guests. Jinshanling Great Wall is 50 km south; Beijing’s Forbidden City is under 2 hours by intercity rail.
