On Monday, August 2nd, UNESCO’s World Heritage Committee concluded its 34th session, adding 21 new sites to the World Heritage List. One of the new additions to the list is a collection of religious and historical buildings located near the city of Dengfeng at the foot of Mount Songshang, China’s most sacred mountain. The monuments include the famous Shaolin Temple, the birthplace of Zen Buddhism and the Shaolin style of martial arts, and an astronomical observatory build on the orders of Kublai Khan. Because there are so many temples and monasteries located in the shadow of sacred Songshang mountain, the Chinese refer to this area as the “Center of Heaven and Earth.”

On its website, UNESCO explains that the sites were added to the World Heritage List due to their historical, religious and cultural significance:

“Constructed over the course of nine dynasties, these buildings are reflections of different ways of perceiving the centre of heaven and earth and the power of the mountain as a centre for religious devotion. The historical monuments of Dengfeng include some of the best examples of ancient Chinese buildings devoted to ritual, science, technology and education.”

To visit China’s newest World Heritage Site, you’ll need a Chinese visa for tourists, also known as an “L” visa. To get one, you’ll need the following documents:

• A Chinese visa application
• Your US passport, which must be valid for at least 6 more months. You’ll also need at least one blank page in the back.
• A copy of your passport’s information page (the page with your name, date of birth, etc on it).
• One passport photo glued or stapled to the application.

If you are leaving within the next 7 days, include a copy of your travel itinerary so that your Chinese visa can be expedited.

Using an expediting company like RushMyTravelVisa can make the Chinese visa process easier and quicker. We’ll help you with the application, decreasing the likelihood of errors that could hold up your visa. Then, we’ll deliver your paperwork to the appropriate Chinese Embassy for the fastest possible processing.

Apply for your Chinese visa today!

Tags: China, China visa, Chinese visa, UNESCO World Heritage Sites

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 7th, 2010 at 12:19 am and is filed under World Heritage Site of the Week. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.