The World Heritage Committee,
1. Noting the agreement of the State Party to a modification of the original name,
2. Approves the extension of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, China, to include the Imperial Palace of the Qing Dynasty in Shenyang under the existing cultural criteria (iii) and (iv). The name of the property as extended becomes Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing
Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang.
Criterion (iii): The Imperial Palaces bear exceptional testimony to Chinese civilisation at the time of the Ming and Qing dynasties, being true reserves of landscapes, architecture, furnishings and objects of art, as well as carrying exceptional evidence to the living traditions and the customs of Shamanism practised by the Manchu people for centuries.
Criterion (iv): The Imperial Palaces provide outstanding examples of the greatest palatial architectural ensembles in China. They illustrate the grandeur of the imperial institution from the Qing Dynasty to the earlier Ming and Yuan dynasties, as well as Manchu traditions, and present evidence on the evolution of this architecture in the 17th and 18th centuries.
3. Inscribes the Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang, China on the World Heritage List, under cultural criteria (i) and (ii), in addition to the existing cultural criteria (iii) and (iv):
Criterion (i): The Imperial Palaces represent masterpieces in the development of imperial palace architecture in China.
Criterion (ii): The architecture of the Imperial Palace complexes, particularly in Shenyang, exhibits an important interchange of influences of traditional architecture and Chinese palace architecture particularly in the 17th and 18th centuries.
4. Recognizing the efforts already made by the authorities in the management of the Shenyang Palace complex in removing some of the problems in the surroundings,
5. Recommends to the State Party that special attention be given to risk preparedness, sensitive presentation of the Palace in Shenyang and to tourism control programmes there. Rigorous control is recommended on land-use control in the buffer zone in order to avoid any further encroachment in the environment of the property;
6. Requests the State Party to submit supplementary information including a map indicating the core and buffer areas of the Imperial Palace of the Ming and Qing Dynasties World Heritage property inscribed in 1987 by 1 February 2005.