The work conference on application of world cultural heritage of Hunan Province was held in Changsha on the morning of December 17.
Laosi Town, regional defense system in Fenghuang and villages of the Dong people were included in the World Cultural Heritage Tentative List. At the meeting, the local governments of the three cultural relics were conferred the plates by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH). Meanwhile, they submitted target responsibility documents to Hunan Provincial People’s Government and proposed measures to protect, regulate and manage these cultural relics, which laid a solid foundation for applying for World Cultural Heritage.
Located in Sicheng Village of Lingxi Town in Yongshun County, Laosi Town is an ancient town governed by hereditary headmen of the Tujia ethnic group in west Hunan for over 800 years. Laosi Town, the most typical ancient cultural relic in minority nationality regions of southern China, offers precious materials for the study on the history of Tujia nationality, Chinese Tusi System (a special political system that China’s ancient feudal dynasties applied to rule people in the ethnic group regions by granting hereditary titles to local leaders) and system of regional ethnic autonomy.
Located in the hinterland of Wuling Mountains and known as the most beautiful county in China, Fenghuang County is an area mainly inhabited by the Miao ethnic group. Composed of Fenghuang ancient town, Chinese southern great wall and Huangsiqiao ancient town, the defense system in Fenghuang is one of the largest, best preserved and the most full-featured military sites in Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) in southern China.
Translator: Xiao Juan
Source: Hunan Official Web Portal