| The Mountain Resort and its Outlying Temples
in Chengde was included in ^the World Heritage list ̄ in 1994
(No.200-011) according to the selection criteria for cultural
heritage C(II) (IV).
Evaluation of the World Heritage Committee:
Chengde Mountain Resort is a summer palace of Qing Dynasty,
which is located in Hebei Province, and was constructed from
1703 to 1792. It is a huge architectural complex composed
of a large number of palaces and other buildings where government
affairs were handled and ceremonies were held. Temples of
various architectural styles and the royal garden are artfully
integrated with the surrounding lakes, forests and pastures.
The mountain Resort not only has high aesthetic value in research,
but also reserved the rare historical monuments of the late
period of China's feudal society.
The assessment of world heritage is primarily made according
to the ^Convention on World Cultural and Natural Heritage
Protection ̄ (I and II). A heritage item must undergo strict
examination and approval procedures before it is included
in ^the World Heritage List ̄.
The World Heritage Committee meeting, held
once a year, examines the heritage items expected to get into
the World Heritage List primarily according to the evaluation
report given by experts commissioned by the committee to have
visits to heritage sites in person. The site visits are mainly
arranged by ICOMOS and IUCN. The former has its headquarter
in Paris, founded in 1965, the only non-governmental international
association engaged in the study of cultural heritage protection
theory, the use and promotion of technology, with over 80
countries as member nations and 4500 individual members. The
latter has its headquarter in Geneva, founded in 1948, aiming
at promoting and encouraging man¨s protection and permanent
use of natural resources, with official institutions, civil
societies as well as institutions of scientific research and
protection from 120 countries as its members. Both of the
above, commissioned by the World Heritage Committee, respectively
investigate the cultural and natural heritage nominated for
inclusion of the directory and submit the evaluation report.
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