Mount Qingcheng and the Dujiangyan Irrigation System — the birthplace of institutionalised Daoism (Zhang Daoling’s Celestial Masters, 143 CE) and the world’s oldest large-scale irrigation system in continuous operation (Li Bing, 256 BCE), inscribed together in 2000, 65 km northwest of Chengdu — link north to Jiuzhaigou 220 km, south to Mount Emei and Leshan Giant Buddha 150 km, and southeast to Dazu Rock Carvings 300 km.
Mount Wuyi (Wuyi Shan) — 99,975-hectare mixed natural and cultural UNESCO site in northern Fujian Province with the Nine-Bend River Danxia gorge, Zhu Xi’s Neo-Confucian Academy (1183 CE), and hanging coffins of the pre-Han Minyue culture, inscribed 1999 — links north to Lushan National Park 150 km, northeast to Huangshan 200 km, and south to Fujian Tulou 280 km via the Hefei-Fuzhou HSR from Wuyishan North Station.
The Dazu Rock Carvings — approximately 50,000 Tang-Song Buddhist cliff sculptures across 75 sites in Dazu County, Chongqing Municipality, including the 70-year Baodingshan campaign directed by the monk Zhao Zhifeng (1179–1249 CE), inscribed 1999 — link northwest to Jiuzhaigou Valley 300 km, west to Dujiangyan Irrigation System 300 km, and northeast to Wudang Mountains 500 km via Chongqing HSR hub.
The Temple of Heaven (Tiantan) — 2.73-square-kilometre Ming imperial ritual complex in Beijing with the circular Hall of Prayer for Good Harvests (1420, rebuilt 1889) and the Circular Mound Altar where winter solstice sacrifices were performed for 494 years, inscribed 1998 — links to the Forbidden City 5 km north, the Summer Palace 15 km northwest, and the Grand Canal terminus at Tongzhou 30 km east.
The Hiroshima Peace Memorial lies 16 km from Itsukushima Shrine, the Meiji Industrial sites 76 km and Iwami Ginzan 88 km, with how the shrine and its O-torii gate stand in the tide.
The Summer Palace (Yiheyuan) — Qing imperial garden complex centred on the 2.2-square-kilometre Kunming Lake and Longevity Hill, built from 1750 and rebuilt by Empress Dowager Cixi after 1860, inscribed 1998 in Haidian District northwest Beijing — links to the Forbidden City 15 km southeast, Old Summer Palace ruins 5 km, Chengde Mountain Resort 230 km northeast, and the Great Wall at Badaling 75 km northwest.
The Classical Gardens of Suzhou — nine Ming-Qing scholar-official garden complexes in Jiangsu Province including the Humble Administrator’s Garden (1509) and the Master of Nets Garden (1140/1765), inscribed 1997 and extended 2000 — link west to West Lake Hangzhou 100 km, northwest to the Grand Canal 120 km, and southwest to Huangshan 250 km via HSR from Suzhou Station.
The Ancient City of Pingyao — a complete Ming-Qing dynasty walled city (1370 wall) in Shanxi Province and the historic centre of China’s first national banking network, inscribed 1997 — links north to Yungang Grottoes 280 km, northeast to Mount Wutai 150 km, and east to the Forbidden City and Great Wall 550 km via the Datong-Xi’an HSR.
The Old Town of Lijiang — the 12th-century Naxi trading hub in northwestern Yunnan without a city wall, set below Jade Dragon Snow Mountain (inscribed 1997) — links north to the Three Parallel Rivers gorges 100 km away, northwest to Shangri-La 200 km, and south to the Chengjiang Cambrian fossils 400 km via Kunming HSR.
