Update: Chinese rock art cultural landscape added to World Heritage List

China's Zuojiang Huashan rock-art cultural landscape was added Friday to the World Heritage List at the 40th session of World Heritage Committee held in Istanbul.

The World Heritage Committee, at its 40th session in Istanbul, cited the site's uniqueness in combining the landscape and rock art with the vivid and deep social life of the Luoyue people, who lived along the Zuojiang River.

The landscape was formed 200 million years ago, according to a report presented at the meeting.

The images on the rocks depicting drums and related elements are symbolic records directly associated with the bronze drum culture once widespread in the region, the report said.

The rock art landscape is the first of its kind for China's heritage, and made the number of the Chinese properties on the World Heritage List grow to 49.

"This is a victory for the local people," said Liu Shuguang, deputy administrator of China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage.

"For the first time a cultural heritage in China which represents a rock art has been accepted to the World Heritage List," he noted.

During the evaluation of the site, the Turkish representative drew the attention to the natural risks that have been threatening the outstanding universal value of Huashan rock art.

The representative urged the committee to create a risk strategy.

The Jamaican representative, in her speech, highlighted the importance of the site in representing a unique art that could be passed on to the next generations.

At its meeting until Sunday, the World Heritage Committee will review the nominations of 26 other sites to the prestigious World Heritage List.

Among them are nine natural, 13 cultural and four mixed ones submitted from across the world. Endit