Photo: Global Times

China's Xixia Imperial Tombs was inscribed as a World Heritage Site at the 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee held in Paris, France, on Friday, becoming China's 60th entry on that list.

Renowned as the "Oriental Pyramids," the Xixia Imperial Tombs is located in the eastern foothills of the middle section of the Helan Mountains in Yinchuan, Northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region. 

As a royal mausoleum complex of the Xixia Dynasty(1038-1227), a significant historical regime founded by the Tangut people, the tombs constitute the largest, highest-ranked, and most intact archaeological site from the Xixia period that has survived to the present day.

To date, nine imperial tombs, 271 subordinate tombs, a 5.03-hectare complex of architectural ruins and 32 flood control sites, in addition to over 7,100 architectural components and finely crafted artifacts, have been uncovered at this site, Wang Changfeng, an archaeologist who has worked at the site for 28 years, told the Global Times.

"These findings have offered valuable insights into the sophisticated engineering, artistry and cultural achievements of the Xixia Dynasty," he said.

According to a document that National Cultural Heritage Administration sent to the Global Times, the outstanding universal value of Xixia Imperial Tombs lies in their multiethnic fusion and multicultural interaction in the agro-pastoral interlaced region in northwestern China from the 11th to 13th centuries. 

It has preserved its authenticity and integrity to this day, providing a unique testimony to the "pluralistic and integrated" pattern of Chinese civilization and the formation process of a unified multiethnic state. It thus holds an irreplaceable and significant position in the history of world civilization.

Historical records indicate that during the Xixia Dynasty, various ethnic groups, including the Tangut, Han, Uygur and Tibetan, coexisted. Their diverse livelihoods, religious practices and cultural customs enriched the Xixia's heritage, shaping its distinctive and multifaceted cultural identity.

"As a multi-ethnic regime, Western Xia culture was diverse and eclectic, yet it was predominantly shaped by the Chinese civilization. This cultural identification has been a powerful intrinsic force driving the formation and development of a sense of community for the Chinese nation," Du Jianlu, dean of the School of Ethnology and History at Ningxia University, told the Global Times.

The 47th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee opened on Monday at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France, with 30 proposed sites up for review for inscription on the World Heritage List, including China's Xixia Imperial Tombs.

The 30 nominated sites for 2024 include 24 cultural heritage sites, five natural heritage sites and one mixed cultural and natural heritage site. The Xixia Imperial Tombs has been submitted as a cultural heritage site and represent China's sole nomination for this year's session.