CRI听力:Tusi Sites Listed as World Heritage

China gained its 48th World Heritage Site on Saturday during the 39th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Bonn, Germany.

The three Tusi sites include the ruins of Hailongtun castle in Guizhou; the Tangya Tusi city in Hubei; and the Yongshun old Tusi city in Hunan.

With the inscription of the three, China now has 48 world heritage sites, trailing only Italy.

Historical architecture researcher Chen Tongbin says the Tusi sites are different from common historical structures.

"One thing is worth our attention this time. What makes the Tusi Sites distinguished is not their architecture, but their roles in helping us learn about how an ancient governance system kept harmony between the central authorities at the time and local ethnic minority groups."

Tusi refers to tribal chieftains who governed non-Han ethnic groups in southwest China between the 13th to the mid-20th century.

The chieftains were appointed as imperial officials by the central government at the time.

They used to rule their tribes on the basis of the empire's law and proprieties as well as local customs.

Under the Native Chieftain System, the tribal leaders were allowed to inherit their official positions.

It's widely recognized that the Tusi system was a model for preserving cultural diversity in a unified multi-ethnic country.

China officially submitted application to the World Heritage Center for Chinese chieftain heritage in March last year.

Xu Guanghua is an official from Zunyi City, the site of the Hailongtun castle.

Xu believes the listing will bring new momentum to the development of local tourism.

"The listing of Hailongtun Site is of great importance to the development of the city. Our three years of efforts finally pay off. We will take advantage of this opportunity to boost our tourism development and improve cultural heritage protection."

To protect Hailongtun, the Zunyi government has allocated about 300 million yuan, or about 50 million U.S. dollars, to relocate residents and renovate the site.

So far, UNESCO has acknowledged 1,007 World Heritage properties across the globe, 779 cultural sites, 197 natural sites and 31 mixed sites.

For CRI, I'm Liu Yuanhui.