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The 44th session of the World Heritage Committee is chaired
from Fuzhou (China) and taking place online from 16 to 31 July 2021. Following
sites from China and Iran (both are Member States of IICAS) were inscribed to
the UNESCO World Heritage List on 25 July 2021.
Quanzhou: Emporium
of the World in Song-Yuan China. The serial
site of Quanzhou illustrates the city’s vibrancy as a maritime emporium during
the Song and Yuan periods (10th - 14th centuries AD) and its interconnection
with the Chinese hinterland. Quanzhou thrived during a highly significant
period for maritime trade in Asia. The site encompasses religious buildings,
including the 11th century AD Qingjing Mosque, one of the earliest Islamic
edifices in China, Islamic tombs, and a wide range of archaeological remains:
administrative buildings, stone docks that were important for commerce and
defence, sites of ceramic and iron production, elements of the city’s
transportation network, ancient bridges, pagodas, and inscriptions. Known as
Zayton in Arabic and western texts of the 10th to 14th centuries AD.
Trans-Iranian
Railway (Islamic Republic of Iran). The Trans-Iranian Railway connects the Caspian Sea in the northeast with
the Persian Gulf in the southwest crossing two mountain ranges as well as
rivers, highlands, forests and plains, and four different climatic areas. Started
in 1927 and completed in 1938, the 1,394-kilometre-long railway was designed
and executed in a successful collaboration between the Iranian government and
43 construction contractors from many countries. The railway is notable for its
scale and the engineering works it required to overcome steep routes and other
difficulties. Its construction involved extensive mountain cutting in some
areas, while the rugged terrain in others dictated the construction of 174
large bridges, 186 small bridges and 224 tunnels, including 11 spiral tunnels.
Unlike most early railway projects, construction of the Trans-Iranian Railway
was funded by national taxes to avoid foreign investment and control.
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