The World Heritage Committee has inscribed a total of 34 properties on UNESCO's World Heritage List during its extended 44th session, as the transnational property of the Frontiers of the Roman Empire – The Danube Limes (Western Segment) was added to the list on Friday, closing this year's inscription agenda.
The newly inscribed item features component sites in Austria, Germany, and Slovakia, covering almost 600 kilometers of the whole Roman Empire's Danube frontier, according to the UN culture body.
The Luoyang Bridge is one of the 22 component sites featured in the serial property of "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China," which is added to the World Heritage List during the 44th session in Fuzhou, Fujian Province, southeast China. /CFP
During its 44th session, chaired by China from the southeastern city of Fuzhou with online meetings, the World Heritage Committee has evaluated 45 new proposals, including nominations submitted in 2020 and 2021.
A total of 34 new properties – 29 cultural and five natural sites – were inscribed during this year's session and three properties were extended.
China's ancient port of Quanzhou is bestowed the much-coveted title of World Heritage Site by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee during its 44th session. /CFP
France's Mediterranean city Nice obtains its classification as World Heritage by UNESCO, recognized as "winter resort town of the Riviera." /CFP
The ancient agricultural town of Al-Salt in west-central Jordan is designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO's World Heritage Committee during its 44th session. /CFP
One of the recent inscriptions was "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China," the only application from the host country during this year's session. The ancient port of Quanzhou on China's southeastern coast was bestowed the much-coveted title last Sunday, bringing the total number of World Heritage Sites in the country to 56.
The Committee has approved the extension of the boundaries of Hubei Shennongjia, a World Heritage Site in central China's Hubei Province inscribed in 2016, including the Chongqing Wulipo National Natural Reserve as part of the natural property.
The current session also saw the Committee take the exceptional and rare decision to delete "Liverpool – Maritime Mercantile City" from the World Heritage List due to "the irreversible loss of attributes conveying the outstanding universal value of the property," according to UNESCO.
The UK's property was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2004 and on the List of World Heritage in Danger in 2012 following concerns about the proposed development of Liverpool Waters.
The World Heritage Committee holds the annual meetings virtually for the first time and in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province, July 24, 2021. /CFP
The Committed also warranted the removal of the Salonga National Park in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from the List of World Heritage in Danger for the sufficient improvements in the site's state of conservation.
The historic site of Rosia Montana in Romania, a gold mining site dating back to the period of the Roman Empire, was inscribed simultaneously on the World Heritage List and on the List of World Heritage in Danger pending the removal of threats to its integrity posed by possible mining activities.
The annual session, postponed from last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has been extended to 15 days this year, running from July 16 to 31. A closing ceremony will be held in Fuzhou and livestreamed to the general public on Saturday night after the daily meetings scheduled for the final day conclude.
With this year's 34 new inscriptions, the total number of sites on UNESCO's World Heritage List reaches 1154.
The 45th session of the World Heritage Committee is scheduled to take place in Kazan, Russia from June 19 to 30, 2022, said UNESCO in a Friday release.
