Our Cultural & Natural World Heritage in Asia & the Pacific Region

UNESCO World Heritage Sites Accessible from Upcoming Ports of Call in China, S. Korea, Russia and Japan

by Heather Hopkins Clement

1. UNESCO
1. Five Major Programs:
1. Education
2. Natural Sciences
3. Social and Human Sciences
4. Culture
5. Communication and Information
2. World Heritage Convention
1. Designation for places on earth of “outstanding universal value to humanity”
2. Designation brings prestige and raises preservation awareness
3. Convention adopted in 1972
4. 186 countries are party to the convention
5. 890 natural and cultural places inscribed on the World Heritage List to date.
3. Famous Examples of World Heritage Sites
1. Pyramids of Egypt
2. Great Barrier Reef in Australia
3. Galapagos Islands in Ecuador
4. Taj Mahal in India
5. Grand Canyon in the USA
6. Acropolis in Greece
4. 10 criteria for the Nomination of
   World Heritage Sites
1. sites must be of outstanding universal value and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria:
1. Cultural
2. Natural
3. Mixed
4. protection, management, authenticity and integrity of properties are also important considerations
5. 10 criteria for the Nomination of
   World Heritage Sites
1. to represent a masterpiece of human creative genius
2. to exhibit an important interchange of human values
1. over a span of time or within a cultural area of the world
2. on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning or landscape design
3. to bear a unique or at least exceptional testimony
1. to a cultural tradition
2. or to a civilization which is living or which has disappeared
4. to be an outstanding example
1. of a type of building, architectural or technological ensemble or landscape
2. which illustrates (a) significant stage(s) in human history
5. to be an outstanding example of a traditional use which is representative of a culture (or cultures)
1. human settlement
2. land-use
3. sea-use
4. human interaction with the environment
6. to be directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions of outstanding universal significance
1. with ideas
2. with beliefs
3. with artistic works
4. with literary works
7. to contain superlative natural phenomena or areas of exceptional natural beauty and aesthetic importance
8. to be outstanding examples representing major stages of earth's history
1. including the record of life
2. significant on-going geological processes in the development of landforms
3. or significant geomorphic or physiographic features
9. to be outstanding examples representing significant on-going ecological and biological processes in the evolution and development of ecosystems and communities of plants and animals
1. terrestrial
2. fresh water
3. coastal
4. marine
10. to contain the most important and significant natural habitats for in-situ conservation of biological diversity
6. Statistics: Asia/Pacific Region
1. 890 World Heritage Sites
2. 186 World Heritage Properties in Asia and the Pacific Region
3. 129 Cultural Sites
4. 48 Natural Sites
5. 9 Mixed Sites
7. Statistics: Countries We Will Visit
1. 38 sites in China
2. 9 sites in South Korea
3. 23 sites in Russia
4. 14 sites in Japan
8. World Heritage Sites in China
1. From Port of Shanghai – 1
2. From Port of Dalian – 0
3. From Port of Xingang – 6
9. From the Port of Shanghai:
1. Classical Gardens of Suzhou
1. represent the different styles of Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties.
2. The Humble Administrator's Garden
3. Great Surging Wave Pavilion
4. Lion Grove Garden
5. The Lingering Garden
10. From the Port of Xingang (Beijing):
1. The Great Wall
2. The Temple of Heaven
3. The Summer Palace
4. The Imperial Palace (Forbidden City)
5. The Peking Man Site
6. Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples
   in Chengde City
11. S. Korea
1. 9 sites in the country
2. 5+ sites accessible from port of Incheon
12. From the Port of Incheon:
1. Changdeokgung Palace Complex in Seoul
2. Ganghwa Dolmen Site
3. Jongmyo Shrine in Seoul
1. The Royal Ancestral Ritual and its Music
4. Hwaseong Fortress
5. Royal Tombs of the Joseon Dynasty
1. Seoul Area
1. Seolleung Cluster
2. Heolleung Cluster
3. Taereung Cluster
4. Jeongneung Cluster
5. Uireung Cluster
13. World Heritage Sites in Russia
1. 23 sites in Russia
2. From the Port of Vladivostok: 1
14. From the Port of Vladivostok:
1. Sikhote-Alin
15. World Heritage Sites in Japan
1. 14 sites in the country
16. Sites Accessible from our
    Japanese Ports of Call
1. From Port of Fukuoka: 0
2. From Port of Hiroshima: 3
3. From Port of Osaka: innumerable
4. From Port of Tokyo: 1
17. From Port of Hiroshima:
1. Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)
2. Itsukushima Shinto Shrine in Miyajima
3. Iwami Ginzan Silver Mine and its Cultural Landscape (in the city of Oda, Shimane Prefecture)
18. From Port of Osaka:
1. Himeji-jo Castle in Hyogo Prefecture
2. Historic Monuments of Ancient Kyoto (Kyoto, Uji and Otsu Cities)
1. Kinkakuji (The Golden Pavilion)
2. Kiyomizudera (temple)
3. Ryoan-ji (temple)
4. Shimogamo Shrine
5. Kamigamo-jinja (shrine)
6. Ginkakuji (The Silver Pavilion)
7. Saihō-ji (temple)
8. Ninna-ji (temple)
9. Tō-ji (temple)
10. Enryaku-ji (temple)
11. Daigo-ji (temple)
12. Byodo-in
13. Kōzanji (temple)
14. Tenryūji (temple)
15. Hongan-ji (temple)
16. Kamomioya-jinja (shrine)
17. Ujikami-jinja (shrine)
18. Daitoku-ji (temple)
19. Nijo Castle
3. Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara
1. Hōryūji (temple)
2. Yakushiji
3. Tōshōdaiji
4. Gango-ji
5. Heijō Palace Site
6. Nara Park
1. Tōdaiji (temple)
2. Kōfukuji (temple)
3. Kasuga-Taisha (shrine)
4. Kasugayama Primeval Forest
4. Sacred Sites and Pilgrimage Routes
   in the Kii Mountain Range
1. Kōya-san (Mt. Kōya)
1. Kongobu-ji (temple)
19. From the Port of Tokyo
1. Shrines and Temples of Nikkō
1. Nikkō Tōshō-gū (shrine)
2. Shinkyō Sacred Bridge
3. Futarasan-jinja (shrine)
4. Rinnō-ji (temple)

 

CHINA: 15 places worth visiting in China: Weizhou Island

Weizhou Island in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region is China's youngest and largest inactive volcanic island with an area of 24.74 square 
kilometers. You can see scenery is made by sea erosion and marine 
accumulation, as well as experience the life of the Kejia people.

2009-12-01 17:02 BJT

Editor: Jin Lin | Source: China.org.cn

View Article on CCTV

KAMAKURA, JAPAN: Kamakura Meditations

Kamakura Meditations 2009 from Chris Wells on Vimeo.

Video clips and stills montage shot at Kotoku-In (高徳院) and Hasedera (長谷寺) Temples and Tsurugaoku Hachimangu (鶴岡八幡宮) Shrine, Kamakura, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan in March and October of 2008.

Kamakura is ancient Japanese city that was became the capital of Japan during the Kamakura Shogunate (1185 to 1333) founded by Minamoto Yoritomo following his defeat of the Fujiwara clan.

The city is the largest ancient cultural attraction within 50 kilometers of Tokyo (others include Nikko and Hakone) hosting millions of tourists a year. It is well worth a day trip from Tokyo if you are stopping over in Japan and while not as extensive in historic cultural attractions as Kyoto, Kamakura can often feel less "touristy".

DALIAN, CHINA: Zhongshan Square

 

LONELY PLANET:

Zhongshan Square is Dàlián's hub: grand buildings, most dating to the early 1900s, encircling a huge roundabout. Dàlián Bīnguǎn, a dignified hotel on the square's south side, appeared in the movie The Last Emperor . The square (actually, a circle) is busiest at night, when young people hang out or play hacky sack. An even larger crowd comes to watch the Dàlián Shide football stars on the square's giant TV screen

FROMMER’S:

Dalian's most impressive buildings surround Zhongshan Guangchang. Highlights are the late Renaissance-style white-brick and green-domed Bank of China (built in 1909) on the north side of the square, and the Dalian Hotel directly opposite.

RUSSIA: On this day: 22 February

On February 22, 1918, the evacuation began of Russian ships from Revel, Estonia, that went down in history as “The Great Ice Campaign” of the Baltic Fleet.

On February 18 that year the German forces attacked the Baltic states. The Russian squadron based in Revel (now Tallinn, the capital of Estonia) was in direct danger. The Baltic Sea was covered with ice, making vessels immobile, and the German forces could easily seize them.

The Soviet Sea Commissariat decided to transport the ships to the other side of the frozen Gulf of Finland, to Helsinki, and then return them to Kronshtadt in Russia. A fleet of icebreakers headed toward Revel on February 17, and in five days the evacuation started. When on February 25 the German forces occupied Revel, most of Russian vessels were already sailing across the gulf, leaving behind an old submarine, “Unicorn,” sealed in ice and a few support boats. The entire arsenal of land-based artillery batteries and turret guns based on the shore were destroyed in a series of explosions by the Soviet army to prevent the Germans from taking over them. All rescued vessels reached their destination safely.

On March 3, 1918, Russia and Germany signed the Peace Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. According to the disadvantageous terms of the treaty, the Soviet Army was to be disarmed and discharged, and Russian battle ships were not allowed to leave their ports. In addition, Germany was going to attack Finland, so the once-saved squadron was again threatened with destruction.

Leon Trotsky and Vladimir Lenin voiced conflicting ideas on how to deal with the fleet. Lenin insisted on moving the vessels to Kronshtadt, and Trotsky thought it would be better to leave the squadron in Finland to help the Finnish Red Army fight the Germans and internal enemies. While contradictory orders were showered from Moscow, the final decision was made by captain Aleksey Shastny, who commanded the fleet to return to the Russian port of Kronshtadt.

He divided the squadron into three squads. The first group headed toward Kronshtadt on March 12, and came to the port on March 17. The second squad left Helsinki on April 5, when the Germans occupied the Hanko Peninsula. This group reached port on April 10, and the third squad returned to Kronshtadt on April 22. Many other Russian battle ships joined the evacuation from Finland, and as a result 226 vessels were saved during this operation. Aleksey Shastny was decorated with the Red Flag Order, one of the highest military awards of the Soviet time, and became the Head of the Sea Forces of Baltic Fleet.

Successful relocation of the vessels, though, did not ease the situation. The German army used the instability around the border and pressed for further disarmament on the Soviet navy, while more forces were moved towards Petrograd, now St. Petersburg. Tattered and torn fleets became a threat to the Brest peace treaty, poor and demoralized sailors became a highly volatile force ripe for a rebellion. Trotsky decided to take radical measures against this internal threat and issued a secret order to explode all the ships which somehow leaked and created a surge of fury growing into a full scale rebellion. The riot was suppressed, and the ships were sunk.

On May 27, the government charged Shastny with rebellion.

The indictment said “Perfoming the feat, Shastny gained the popularity, and was going to use it against the Soviet Power.”

He was executed -- according to some sources, shot personally by Trotsky in his study -- and the “Ice Campaign” was classified.