Mount Emei Scenic Area, including Leshan Giant Buddha Scenic Area
779
China
C(iv) (vi) N(iv)
The Committee decided to inscribe the nominated property under cultural criteria (iv) and (vi) considering the area of Mt. Emei is of exceptional cultural significance, since it is the place where Buddhism first became established on Chinese territory and from where it spread widely throughout the east. It is also an area of natural beauty into which the human element has been integrated, and natural criterion (iv) for its high plant species diversity with a large number of endemic species.
It also underlined the importance of the link between the tangible and intangible, the natural and the cultural.
The Delegate of China informed the Committee of the improvements in tourism management and underlined that the Division for Religious Affairs is responsible for the monasteries.
The Committee furthermore recommended that the Chinese authorities carefully control tourism development at the site and encourage involvement of the Buddhist monasteries in conservation activities on the mountain.