Have been playing "Find the Lynx"!
I suspect that most Natural/Mixed sites in mainland temperate Eurasia and North America will have them.
In Eurasia - So far - 4 out of 6 - only Daurian "failed". Pirin used to have Lynx
Uvs Nuur
Primeval Beech
Norwegian Fjords
Dormitor

In N America I took the N/S extremes - all have Lynx/Bobcat
Wood Buffalo
Everglades
El Pinacate

I think it's too common there indeed. I'll remove the connection

Confucian Academy (Shuyuan, Seowon, Shijuku)

1. Lushan National Park - Bailudong-shuyuan (White Deer Cave Academy) (China)
2. Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Centre of Heaven and Earth" - Songyang-shuyuan (Songyang Academy of Classical Learning) (China)
3. Historic Monuments and Sites in Kaesong - Sungyangseowon (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)
4. Historic Villages of Korea: Hahoe and Yangdong (Byeongsan-seowon and Oksan-seowon) (Republic of Korea)
5. Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution: Iron and Steel, Shipbuilding and Coal Mining - Shokasonjuku (Hagi Proto-industrial Heritage/ Shokasonjuku Academy) (Japan)
6. Seowon, Korean Neo-Confucian Academies (Sosuseowon, Namgye-seowon, Oksan-seowon, Dosanseowon, Piram-seowon, Dodong-seowon, Byeongsanseowon, Museong-seowon and Donam-seowon) (Republic of Korea)

Nice one! We already have Confucianism, but this is so much more specific.

This was an easy connection, because the Comparative Analysis included in the AB Evaluation identified each property. I was unaware, that this many Confucian Academies were already inscribed.

Dear Els,

For this connection, we need to make it clear that the connection is only for private Confucian academy. The unique of Shuyuan, Seowan and Shijuku are the private establishments and not part of state or imperial Confucian academy. But if you want to expand to include both private and state/imperial Confucian academies, few sites can be added for example, Hue - Temple of Letter and Imperial Academy, the two Confucian educational institutions during Vietnamese imperial time and Pingyao - Confucius Temple, old buildings behind the main temple hall were the lecture hall of city Confucian school during Ming and Qing.

Good point Durian! I did mean to write some criteria for this connection, but it slipped my mind.

When visiting Lima last month I noticed a plaque of what is known as La Ruta Europea del Modernismo with the following WHS named as part of it: Lima, Paris, Tarragona, Nancy, Palermo, Turin, La Chaux-de-Fonds, Budapest, Astorga, Brussels, Havana, Valparaiso, Mexico City and Cartagena

Strange it should contain so many non-European places!!!
It turns out that the Route is about Art Nouveau rather than simply "Modernism". The English/French on its web site is translated as "Art Nouveau" whereas the Catalan/Castillian use "Modernismo" or variant.
Here is a list of all the Cities currently members of the initiative

Quite a lot of the places are included in our existing "Art Nouveau" Connection.
Others would be excluded because the WHS is specifically limited to certain buildings or areas and would exclude any Art Nouveau/Moderismo elements which might be present in the wider area - e.g Tarraco (Roman remains only), Nancy (18th C only), Turin (specific "Residences" only), Palermo (Arab-Norman only), Havana ("Old Havana and its fortifications" only), Astorga (Camino related only?).
The question is whether the list of locations on the Route identifies any Art Nouveau structures within the respective WHS which we have missed? And, if so, which areas/structures? So - Valparaiso and Mexico City. The "Cartagena" which is a member of the route is the Spanish one not the Colombian and doesn't have any inscribed areas (yet??)
a, VALPARAISO
The art nouveau "gem" in this city is the Palacio Barburizza - this building (now the Museum of Fine Arts) is situated within the Core inscribed area and would seem to justify adding Valparaiso to the Art Nouveau Connection
b. MEXICO CITY
This Wiki list shows 8 Art Nouveau structures - I haven't checked the location of all of them but enough ARE in the central area to justify the Connection for this city also?

It appears that China is having a few problems with the Glass Skybridges it has been building (This type of tourist attraction seems to have become something of a Chinese "speciality"!) - https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/oct/30/chinese-province-closes-its-glass-bridges-over-safety-fears

It occurs to me that we could have a Connection for WHS containing Skywalks/Bridges. We need to be careful because not all are inside the WHS core area - e.g Grand Canyon. Others which are "claimed" on the Web to be inside WHS are actually inside e.g a UNESCO Geopark as with Yuntai (see no 4 here - https://sublimechina.com/chinas-popular-glass-walkway-chinachina-glass-bridges/ )

Indeed, it is perhaps a bit surprising that no one in IUCN seems so far to have queried the inclusion of such tourist infrastructure, particularly inside "Natural" WHS!!

Here are my 3 suggestions which, I think, are all inside WHS boundaries - but I am open to correction!
Hallstad-Dachstein - https://dachstein.salzkammergut.at/en/oesterreich-poi/detail/430011864/hallstatt-skywalk-the-world-heritage-view.html
Canadian Rocky Mountain Parks - Colombia Icefield Skywalk in Jasper NP - https://www.banffjaspercollection.com/attractions/columbia-icefield/skywalk/
Wulingyuan - Tianmen Glass Walkway - https://www.boredpanda.com/glass-bridge-tianmen-mountain-zhangjiajie-national-forest-park-hunan-china/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=organic

In regards to Wulingyuan, despite what the articles mention about the Tianmen Glass Walkway, this is located at Tianmen Mountain south of the city of Zhangjiajie, not in the Wulingyuan WHS to the north. This is supported by this website (one of the most reliable I found for China): https://www.chinahighlights.com/zhangjiajie/attraction/tianmen-mountain.htm. Well, that and I didn't see any mention of it on my recent visit to Wulingyuan, when I unfortunately didn't have time for Tianmen. This is similar with the glass bridge in the area, which is located at Zhangjiejie Grand Canyon, again outside of the WHS.

Oh, now we need to find a third one or I will have to remove the connection!

In those lists of skywalks, the platforms at Iguazu are also often mentioned. Definitely within the core zone, but do they fit the connection or are they mere walkways and viewing platforms? There's a foot bridge at Victoria Falls as well which could then count.

Yes that WAS the one I was concerned about - hence my request for confirmation. Many, many articles seem to claim it as WHS. e.g "Walk of Faith (Zhangjiajie, Hunan) - The Walk of Faith is located just south of Zhangjiajie City, on Tianmen Mountain, in central China's Hunan province. The mountain is a popular tourist destination, and the entire park was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1992. The skywalk on the mountain is very intense, located at a height of 1,430 meters and a total of 60 meters long. The path is safe but definitely an unforgettable experience. "
https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/article-skywalks.htm

ELS - all 3 of the "News Articles" you have about Wulingyuan are also about "its" glass bridges and skywalks including the Zhangjiajie one which is also certainly outside the WHS - need to be removed??

Agree we shouldn't count platforms as at Iguazu. Others I know of which are "close" are also actually outside the WHS core zone eg.
Gomera - Mirador de Abrante - https://www.123rf.com/photo_115124735_spain-canary-islands-la-gomera-glass-skywalk-mirador-de-abrante-with-view-to-village-agulo-atlantic-.html
Gibraltar Skywalk - http://www.visitgibraltar.gi/see-and-do/natural-attractions/skywalk-79
Macao Tower (!) - https://www.macautower.com.mo/tower-adventure/tower-adventure/skywalk/

If you're looking for a third, the glass-floored Wulong Tianshengsanqiao viewing platform looks like it might fall within the core zone of the Three Natural Bridges section of the Wulong Karst, within the South China Karst World Heritage Site. It's a bit more like a balcony than a walkway, but it seems like it fits with the general theme.

I noticed that your description for skywalks was focused on natural areas. Would your definition also cover skywalks or glass-floored observation decks at cultural World Heritage Sites? If so, there is a skywalk at the top of St. Rumbold's Tower in Mechelen, Belgium, which is one of the Belfries of Belgium and France. Additionally, Paris has a glass-floored observation deck on the Eiffel Tower, within the Paris, Banks of the Seine World Heritage Site.

Also, does the platform need to be transparent? If not, there is a skywalk at Geirangerfjord which is within the boundaries of the West Norwegian Fjords World Heritage Site. That skywalk also appears more like a balcony than a walkway, though.

Great! It looks like you saved the connection.


Cultural sites could count too. I notice that this thing in Mechelen is really advertised as a skywalk, but it looks like a quite common outdoor balcony / viewing platform fixed to a tower to me. I am a bit in doubt about this one. What do you think, Solivagant, as 'inventor' of this connection? The Eiffel Tower glass floor is similar.


I've been there and it is far from spectacular indeed. I think there should be a certain scariness involved (hence the transparency).