President stresses preserving cultural, natural heritage

President Xi Jinping has called for further efforts to preserve the country's cultural and natural treasures and renew their glamour in the new era.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remark in an instruction on strengthening the protection, preservation and utilization of the nation's cultural and natural heritage.

The instruction was made after one cultural heritage and two natural heritage sites of China were inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July.

UNESCO announced the inscription of the Beijing Central Axis, the Badain Jaran Desert and the Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China (Phase II) during the 46th session of the World Heritage Committee held in New Delhi, India.

The Beijing Central Axis is an ensemble of palaces, public buildings and gardens that governs the overall layout of the old city area of the Chinese capital. The Badain Jaran Desert is a meeting point for three sandy regions of China, and stands out with its high density of towering dunes intersected by inter-dunal lakes. The bird sanctuaries in Yellow Sea eco-region are part of the world's largest intertidal wetland system.

Xi said the inclusion of these sites on the heritage list has positive significance for the building of Chinese modernization that features material and cultural-ethical advancement as well as harmony between humanity and nature, noting that it also adds new luster to world civilizations.

He called for efforts to take this UNESCO inscription as an opportunity to further strengthen the comprehensive and systematic protection of the nation's cultural and natural heritage, and make good use of them to better meet the people's needs.

Xi also urged enhanced international exchanges and cooperation in this field, and efforts to make greater contributions to the practice of the Global Civilization Initiative and the building of a community with a shared future for mankind.

Currently, China is home to a total of 59 World Heritage sites.