Jiangxi mountain range joins ancient Hakka housing on World Heritage List

Unesco has added Mount Sanqing National Park in Jiangxi province to its World Heritage List, bringing the number of Chinese sites on the international register to 37.

The mountain range's inclusion came a day after the World Heritage Committee announced in Quebec City, Canada, that it had added a collection of ancient Hakka houses in Fujian province , known as tulou, to the list of cultural sites along with several other sites worldwide, including the 11th century Preah Vihear temple on the Thai-Cambodian border.

The Mount Sanqing area is famous for its jagged rocks, oddly shaped pine trees, clouds and mist, and was regarded as a sacred place for Taoists during the Tang dynasty. It is the province's first natural site and the country's seventh to make the list.

The park in Jiangxi province and the tulou in Fujian were the only two nominated by the central government for the World Heritage List this time.

However, the country is facing an uphill battle to preserve some of its diverse cultural heritage that is increasingly susceptible to human development and natural disasters.

In Sichuan province , the pending relocation of Beichuan county in the wake of the May 12 earthquake prompted cultural conservation authorities in Mianyang to fast-track national heritage status applications over fears that some intangible minority culture may disappear altogether.