The Silk Roads: The Routes Network of Chang'an-Tian Shan Corridor is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It includes the Chang'an to Tianshan section of the ancient Silk Road and important historical places along this route. On June 22, 2014, UNESCO named a 5,000 km (3,100 mi) part of the Silk Road network, stretching from Central China to the Zhetysu region of Central Asia, as a World Heritage Site. This route covers parts of China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. It includes 33 new heritage sites and several sites already recognized as heritage locations.

History

In 1988, UNESCO started a study of the Silk Road to help people understand how cultures shared ideas across Eurasia and to protect cultural heritage. In August 2006, UNESCO and the State Administration of Cultural Heritage of China worked together to hold a conference in Turpan, Xinjiang. At the conference, China and five Central Asian countries—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan—agreed to submit a joint application to make the Silk Road a World Heritage site in 2010. The six countries formed a group to organize the application in 2009.

On March 28, 2008, China sent a list of 48 possible Silk Road sites to UNESCO. These sites included overland locations in Henan, Shaanxi, Qinghai, Gansu, Ningxia, and Xinjiang, as well as maritime sites in Ningbo, Zhejiang, and Quanzhou, Fujian. On May 2, 2008, Iran sent a list of possible sites in Khorasan Province. On January 3, 2010, Turkmenistan sent a list of 29 sites along 11 parts of the Silk Road. On January 20, 2010, India sent a list of 12 components of Silk Road sites. On February 19, 2010, Kyrgyzstan sent a list of six sites, and Uzbekistan sent a list of 18 sites. Kazakhstan’s list was sent on May 3, 2012.

At the end of 2011, UNESCO suggested dividing the Silk Road application into smaller sections called corridors. In December 2011, China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan agreed to apply together for one corridor from Central China across the Tianshan Range. Each country chose one government official, one archaeologist, and a national committee to help with the application. Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan planned to apply for another corridor. In 2013, the application for the Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor was completed and sent by Kyrgyzstan. It included 22 sites in China, 8 in Kazakhstan, and 3 in Kyrgyzstan. Each UNESCO member country can submit one application each year. China had already applied for the Grand Canal. The original sites China proposed were changed a lot for this application. Sites in the Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region and those related to the Maritime Silk Road were removed. Some of the sites not included may be submitted later.

On June 22, 2014, at the 38th meeting of the World Heritage Committee in Doha, Qatar, the Chang’an-Tianshan Corridor application was approved.

Sites

The Silk Road's Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor was approved by UNESCO in June 2014 as Site No. 1442. It includes 33 new sites in China, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan. These sites include ancient cities, palaces, trading areas, Buddhist temples, roads, posthouses, mountain passes, watchtowers, parts of the Great Wall, forts, tombs, and religious buildings. Together, the 33 sites cover 42,668.16 hectares (164.7 square miles) and have a buffer zone of 189,963.13 hectares (733.5 square miles).

The sites are divided into four regions by ICOMOS, which evaluated their eligibility for World Heritage status:

• Central China – Ancient imperial capitals in the Central and Guanzhong Plains of China.
• Luoyang City from the Eastern Han to Northern Wei Dynasty, Henan Province
• Dingding Gate, Luoyang City from the Sui and Tang Dynasty, Luoyang
• Hangu Pass, Xin'an County, Henan
• Shihao section of Xiaohan Route, Sanmenxia, Henan
• Weiyang Palace, Xi'an, Shaanxi Province
• Daming Palace, Xi'an
• Giant Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an
• Small Wild Goose Pagoda, Xi'an
• Xingjiao Temple, Xi'an
• Bin County Cave Temple, Bin County, Shaanxi
• Tomb of Zhang Qian, Chenggu County, Shaanxi
• Maijishan Cave Temple Complex, Tianshui, Gansu Province

• Hexi Corridor in Gansu Province – Connecting China Proper and Xinjiang.
• Bingling Temple Grottoes, Yongjing County
• Yumen Pass, Dunhuang
• Xuanquanzhi Posthouse, Dunhuang
• Suoyang City Ruins, Guazhou

• North and South of Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, China
• Qocho (Gaochang) City Ruins, Turpan
• Jiaohe Ruins, Turpan
• Beshbalik (Beiting) City Ruins, Jimsar County
• Kizil Gaha Beacon Tower, Kuqa (Kucha)
• Kizil Caves, Kuqa
• Subash Buddhist Temple Ruins, Kuqa

• Zhetysu Region of the Ili and Talas Valleys in Kazakhstan and the Chüy Valley in Kyrgyzstan
• Site of Kayalyk, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan
• Karamergen, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan
• Talgar, Almaty Region, Kazakhstan
• Aktobe, Jambyl Region, Kazakhstan
• Kulan, Jambyl Region, Kazakhstan
• Akyrtas, Jambyl Region, Kazakhstan
• Ornek, Jambyl Region, Kazakhstan
• Kostobe, Jambyl Region, Kazakhstan
• City of Suyab (Site of Ak-Beshim), Chüy Region, Kyrgyzstan
• City of Balasagun (Site of Burana), Chüy Region, Kyrgyzstan
• City of Nevaket (Site of Krasnaya Rechka), Chüy Region, Kyrgyzstan

Other sites in the Chang'an-Tianshan Corridor include the Mogao Caves in Dunhuang, which were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 1987, and the Longmen Grottoes in Luoyang, which contain more than 10,000 statues and over 2,800 inscriptions. These sites were inscribed as a World Heritage Site in 2000.