Historic Monuments of Dengfeng (UNESCO 2010) cover eight monument clusters on Songshan mountain, including the Shaolin Temple and the 1276 CE Dengfeng Observatory. Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang are 100 km west (40 min HSR); the Ruins of Yin at Anyang are 200 km north (2h by car).
Fujian Tulou (UNESCO 2008) are 20,000 earthen communal fortresses built by Hakka families from the 12th to 20th centuries, concentrated in Yongding and Nanjing counties. Kulangyu/Gulangyu Island in Xiamen is 200 km northeast (3h bus+ferry); the Historic Centre of Macao is 400 km southwest (4h bus).
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.
