Property: Ancient Villages in Southern Anhui - Xidi and Hongcun

Id. N°: 1002

State Party: China

Criteria: C (iii) (iv) (v)

The Committee decided to inscribe this property on the World Heritage List on the basis of criteria (iii), (iv), and (v):

Criterion (iii): The villages of Xidi and Hongcun are graphic illustrations of a type of human settlement created during a feudal period and based on a prosperous trading economy.

Criterion (iv): In their buildings and their street patterns, the two villages of southern Anhui reflect the socio-economic structure of a long-lived settled period of Chinese history.

Criterion (v): The traditional non-urban settlements of China, which have to a very large extent disappeared during the past century, are exceptionally well preserved in the villages of Xidi and Hongcun.

The Committee recommended that the State Party consider nominating other historic villages in Southern Anhui to extend the site.