Summer Palace, an Imperial Garden in Beijing (China)

The Summer Palace in Beijing – first built in 1750, largely destroyed in the war of 1860 and restored on its original foundations in 1886 – is a masterpiece of Chinese landscape garden design. 

The natural landscape of hills and open water is combined with artificial features such as pavilions, halls, palaces, temples and bridges to form a harmonious ensemble of outstanding aesthetic value.

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Monticello and the University of Virginia in Charlottesville (United States)

Thomas Jefferson (1743–1826), author of the American Declaration of Independence and third president of the United States, was also a talented architect of neoclassical buildings. 

He designed Monticello (1769–1809), his plantation home, and his ideal 'academical village' (1817–26), which is still the heart of the University of Virginia. 

Jefferson's use of an architectural vocabulary based upon classical antiquity symbolizes both the aspirations of the new American republic as the inheritor of European tradition and the cultural experimentation that could be expected as the country matured.

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Archaeological Ensemble of Mérida (Spain)

The colony of Augusta Emerita, which became present-day Mérida in Estremadura, was founded in 25 B.C. at the end of the Spanish Campaign and was the capital of Lusitania. 

The well-preserved remains of the old city include, in particular, a large bridge over the Guadiana, an amphitheatre, a theatre, a vast circus and an exceptional water-supply system. 

It is an excellent example of a provincial Roman capital during the empire and in the years afterwards.

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Sikhote-Alin (Russia)

The Sikhote-Alin is a mountain range in Primorsky and Khabarovsk Krais, Russia, extending about 900 kilometres (560 mi) to the northeast of the Russian Pacific seaport of Vladivostok. 

The highest summits are Tordoki Yani at 2,077 metres (6,814 ft) above sea level, Ko Mountain (2,003 m) in Khabarovsk Krai and Anik Mountain (1,933 m) in Primorsky Krai.

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Ninety Mile Beach (New Zealand)

Ninety Mile Beach is on the western coast of the far north of the North Island of New Zealand. 

It stretches from just west of Kaitaia towards Cape Reinga along the Aupouri Peninsula. 

It begins close to the headland of Reef Point, to the west of Ahipara Bay, sweeping briefly northeast before turning northwest for the majority of its length. 

It ends at Scott Point, 5 kilometres  south of Cape Maria van Diemen. 

The beach is actually just 88 kilometers (55 miles) long. 

In the days of sailing ships a number of vessels were wrecked on this beach.

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Tomioka Silk Mill and Related Sites (Japan)

This property is a historic sericulture and silk mill complex established in the late 19th and early 20th century in the Gunma prefecture, north-west of Tokyo. 

It consists of four sites that correspond to the different stages in the production of raw silk: a large raw silk reeling plant whose machinery and industrial expertise were imported from France; an experimental farm for production of cocoons; a school for the dissemination of sericulture knowledge; and a cold-storage facility for silkworm eggs. 

The site illustrates Japan’s desire to rapidly access the best mass production techniques, and became a decisive element in the renewal of sericulture and the Japanese silk industry in the last quarter of the 19th century. 

Tomioka Silk Mill and its related sites became the centre of innovation for the production of raw silk and marked Japan’s entry into the modern, industrialized era, making it the world’s leading exporter of raw silk, notably to Europe and the United States.

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The Trulli of Alberobello (Italy)

The trulli, limestone dwellings found in the southern region of Puglia, are remarkable examples of drywall (mortarless) construction, a prehistoric building technique still in use in this region. 

The trulli are made of roughly worked limestone boulders collected from neighbouring fields. 

Characteristically, they feature pyramidal, domed or conical roofs built up of corbelled limestone slabs.

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Nanda Devi and Valley of Flowers National Parks (India)

Nestled high in West Himalaya, India’s Valley of Flowers National Park is renowned for its meadows of endemic alpine flowers and outstanding natural beauty. 

This richly diverse area is also home to rare and endangered animals, including the Asiatic black bear, snow leopard, brown bear and blue sheep. 

The gentle landscape of the Valley of Flowers National Park complements the rugged mountain wilderness of Nanda Devi National Park. 

Together they encompass a unique transition zone between the mountain ranges of the Zanskar and Great Himalaya, praised by mountaineers and botanists for over a century and in Hindu mythology for much longer.

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Old Town of Corfu (Greece)

The Old Town of Corfu, on the Island of Corfu off the western coasts of Albania and Greece, is located in a strategic position at the entrance of the Adriatic Sea, and has its roots in the 8th century BC. 

The three forts of the town, designed by renowned Venetian engineers, were used for four centuries to defend the maritime trading interests of the Republic of Venice against the Ottoman Empire. 

In the course of time, the forts were repaired and partly rebuilt several times, more recently under British rule in the 19th century. 

The mainly neoclassical housing stock of the Old Town is partly from the Venetian period, partly of later construction, notably the 19th century. 

As a fortified Mediterranean port, Corfu’s urban and port ensemble is notable for its high level of integrity and authenticity.

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Messel Pit Fossil Site (Germany)

Messel Pit is the richest site in the world for understanding the living environment of the Eocene, between 57 million and 36 million years ago. 

In particular, it provides unique information about the early stages of the evolution of mammals and includes exceptionally well-preserved mammal fossils, ranging from fully articulated skeletons to the contents of stomachs of animals of this period.

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