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Tuesday, February 27, 2024

Hill Forts of Rajasthan - India

The serial site, situated in the state of Rajastahan, includes six majestic forts in Chittorgarh; Kumbhalgarh; Sawai Madhopur; Jhalawar; Jaipur, and Jaisalmer. 
The ecclectic architecture of the forts, some up to 20 kilometres in circumference, bears testimony to the power of the Rajput princely states that flourished in the region from the 8th to the 18th centuries. Enclosed within defensive walls are major urban centres, palaces, trading centres and other buildings including temples that often predate the fortifications within which developed an elaborate courtly culture that supported learning, music and the arts. 
Some of the urban centres enclosed in the fortifications have survived, as have many of the site's temples and other sacred buildings. 
The forts use the natural defenses offered by the landscape: hills, deserts, rivers, and dense forests. 
They also feature extensive water harvesting structures, largely still in use today.








Sisak-Moslavina

Sisak-Moslavina County is a county in central Croatia on the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina. 
The name of the province is taken from the city of Sisak and the region of Moslavina across the Sava River.








Sunday, February 25, 2024

Golestan Palace - Iran

The lavish Golestan Palace is a masterpiece of the Qajar era, embodying the successful integration of earlier Persian crafts and architecture with Western influences. 
The walled Palace, one of the oldest groups of buildings in Teheran, became the seat of government of the Qajar family, which came into power in 1779 and made Teheran the capital of the country. 
Built around a garden featuring pools as well as planted areas, the Palace’s most characteristic features and rich ornaments date from the 19th century. 
It became a centre of Qajari arts and architecture of which it is an outstanding example and has remained a source of inspiration for Iranian artists and architects to this day. 
It represents a new style incorporating traditional Persian arts and crafts and elements of 18th century architecture and technology.








Tianjin

Located in northeastern China, on the Bohai Sea. Consists of 16 districts, with the capital Tianjin. 
Border province with Hebei in the west and Liaoning in the northeast. 
Important port city with a long coastline. 
Tianjin is pursuing further economic development, focusing on high-tech industries and innovation. Sustainable development and environmental protection are important priorities. 
The city also wants to become an international hub for trade and tourism.








Thursday, February 22, 2024

Mount Fuji - Japan

The beauty of the solitary, often snow-capped, stratovolcano, known around the world as Mount Fuji, rising above villages and tree-fringed sea and lakes has long been the object of pilgrimages and inspired artists and poets. 
The inscribed property consists of 25 sites which reflect the essence of Fujisan’s sacred and artistic landscape. 
In the 12th century, Fujisan became the centre of training for ascetic Buddhism, which included Shinto elements. 
On the upper 1,500-metre tier of the 3,776m mountain, pilgrim routes and crater shrines have been inscribed alongside sites around the base of the mountain including Sengen-jinja shrines, Oshi lodging houses, and natural volcanic features such as lava tree moulds, lakes, springs and waterfalls, which are revered as sacred.
Its representation in Japanese art goes back to the 11th century, but 19th century woodblock prints of views, including those from sand beaches with pine tree groves have made Fujisan an internationally recognized icon of Japan and have had a deep impact on the development of Western art.








Coquimbo

Coquimbo is one of the sixteen regions of Chile and is also called the fourth region. 
The capital of the region is La Serena. 
The Coquimbo region is named after the city of Coquimbo. 
The Humboldt Penguin National Reserve is located in the region.








Wednesday, February 21, 2024

El Pinacate and Gran Desierto de Altar - Mexico

The 714,566 hectare site comprises two distinct parts: the dormant volcanic Pinacate Shield of black and red lava flows and desert pavements to the east, and, in the west, the Gran Altar Desert with its ever changing and varied sand dunes that can reach a height of 200 metres. 
This landscape of dramatic contrast notably features linear, star and dome dunes as well as several arid granite massifs, some as high as 650 metres. 
The dunes emerge like islands from the sea of sand and harbour distinct and highly diverse plant and wildlife communities, including endemic freshwater fish species and the endemic Sonoran Pronghorn, which is only to be found in northwestern Sonora and in southwestern Arizona (USA). 
Ten enormous, deep and almost perfectly circular craters, believed to have been formed by a combination of eruptions and collapses, also contribute to the dramatic beauty of the site whose exceptional combination of features are of great scientific interest.








Tonkinese

Tonkinese are breathtaking cats. 
They are affectionate and elegant life partners. 
In addition to its beautiful appearance, this cat also sat at the front when the characters were handed out. 
The Tonkanese is a cat without extremes and is a well-balanced individual, both externally and internally.








Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Honghe Hani Rice Terraces - China

The Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces, China covers 16,603-hectares in Southern Yunnan. It is marked by spectacular terraces that cascade down the slopes of the towering Ailao Mountains to the banks of the Hong River. 
Over the past 1,300 years, the Hani people have developed a complex system of channels to bring water from the forested mountaintops to the terraces. 
They have also created an integrated farming system that involves buffalos, cattle, ducks, fish and eel and supports the production of red rice, the area’s primary crop. 
The inhabitants worship the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, forests and other natural phenomena including fire. 
They live in 82 villages situated between the mountaintop forests and the terraces. 
The villages feature traditional thatched “mushroom” houses. 
The resilient land management system of the rice terraces demonstrates extraordinary harmony between people and their environment, both visually and ecologically, based on exceptional and long-standing social and religious structures.








Chateau de Chinon

The Château de Chinon, one of the castles of the Loire, located in Chinon, is a medieval fortress of about 500 meters long and 100 meters wide, overlooking the River Vienne. 
Chinon was the main residence of the kings of England and then of the kings of France.








Wednesday, February 14, 2024

Bergpark Wilhelmshöhe - Germany

Descending a long hill dominated by a giant statue of Hercules, the monumental water displays of Wilhelmshöhe were begun by Landgrave Carl of Hesse-Kassel in 1689 around an east-west axis and were developed further into the 19th century. 
Reservoirs and channels behind the Hercules Monument supply water to a complex system of hydro-pneumatic devices that supply the site’s large Baroque water theatre, grotto, fountains and 350-metre long Grand Cascade. 
Beyond this, channels and waterways wind across the axis, feeding a series of dramatic waterfalls and wild rapids, the geyser-like Grand Fountain which leaps 50m high, the lake and secluded ponds that enliven the Romantic garden created in the 18th century by Carl’s great-grandson, Elector Wilhelm I. 
The great size of the park and its waterworks along with the towering Hercules statue constitute an expression of the ideals of absolutist Monarchy while the ensemble is a remarkable testimony to the aesthetics of the Baroque and Romantic periods.