Briefly

HENAN

Three ancient water facilities discovered

Archaeologists have found three large watercourses dating back to the Wei and Jin dynasties (220-420) in Central China's Henan province. The ancient water conservancy facilities in the city of Luoyang are three stone culverts running side by side from southwest to northeast, according to a team on the scene with the Institute of Archaeology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "Although the bottom elevation, scale and masonry form of the three waterways are slightly different, they are obviously unified in planning and construction," said Guo Xiaotao, deputy head of the team. Guo noted that historical documents indicate that these waterways were used as channels of water diversion from outside the old palace in Luoyang to the north of the palace.

BEIJING

China leads world in natural heritage sites

China has the world's largest number of world natural heritage sites, according to the National Forestry and Grassland Administration. The country is now home to 14 world natural heritage sites and four heritage sites noted for both cultural and natural features, the most of any country in the world, the administration said. These sites effectively protect China's representative geological relics, its mountains, forests and lakes, and its rare and endangered animal and plant species, the administration said. These areas have contributed to the protection of cultural relics, intangible cultural heritage and historical cities, towns and villages, bringing in an annual average tourism revenue of over 14 billion yuan ($2.1 billion). Saturday marked China's Cultural and Natural Heritage Day, which falls on the second Saturday of June every year.

Xinhua