From whatsapp again: The Korean concrete apartment flats. Those that are plastered all across asia nowadays and bear the Samsung logo.

OUV: Economical/affordable living in a dense urban area.
https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/news/article/article.aspx?aid=2920874

Final call for proposals for Asia and the Pacific or if you wish to second a proposal. This topic will close on May 2nd.

Here is the Spreadsheet List. Below I summarized approved proposals only.

Afghanistan 3
- Shrine of Hazrat Ali, Mazar-i-Sharif
- Band e Amir
- Herat
Australia 3
- Christmas Island NP
- Kalbarri NP
- Murujuga (Burrup Peninsula)
Bangladesh 2
- Panam Nagar, Sanargaon -- Center of the Muslin Trade
- Puthia Temple Complex
Bhutan 1
- Dzongs of Bhutan
Cambodia 1
- Tonle Sap
China 15
- Shanghai foreign concessions
- Imperial Xi'an
- Gyantse: Palcho Monastery and Gyantse Dzong
- Mount Kailash
- Western Xia mausoleums
- Ban Gioc Waterfall System
- Drum and Bell Towers of China (serial)
- Central Axis of Beijing
- Lingqu Canal
- Wooden Structures of Liao Dynasty
- Ancient Waterfront Towns in the South of Yangtze River
- ShuDao
- Great Tibetan Monasteries
- Kashgar
- Sacred Mountain Landscape: Changbai Range and Mt Paektu
DPRK (North Korea) 3
- Baekdudaegan Range: Mt. Geumgang and Mt. Seorak [DMZ International Peace Zone]
- Socialist architecture of Pyongyang
- Sacred Mountain Landscape: Changbai Range and Mt Paektu
Fiji 2
- Namena Marine Reserve
- Sites of the Lapita culture (serial, transnational)
India 10
- Tea Plantations of India (Nilgiri, Darjeeling, Assam)
- Backwaters Kerala
- Ranakpur Jain Temple & Dilwara temple
- Shatrunjaya Hill Palitana Temples
- Meenakshi Amman Temple, Madurai
- Cremation Ghats of Varanasi
- Sri Harimandir Sahib, Amritsar, Punjab
- The historic ensemble of Orchha
- Sacred Ensembles of the Hoysala
- North Sentinel Island
Indonesia 5
- Raja Ampat Islands
- Tana Toraja Traditional Settlement
- Balinese wayang painted ceilings of Kerta Gosa and Bale Kambang
- Lore Lindu National Park
- Trans-Fly Complex (transnational)
Iran 4
- Nasqsh-e Rostam and Naqsh-e Rajab
- Ghazna and ruins of al-Askar at Lashkar-i Bazar
- The Great Wall of Gorgan
- Towers of silence of Yazd and Kerma
Japan 8
- Classical Gardens of Japan (Kanazawa)
- Chūbu-Sangaku National Park
- Historic Onsens of Japan
- Works of Tadao Ando
- Works of Kenzo Tange
- Tōkaidō Shinkansen
- Seikan Tunnel
- Nakagin Capsule Tower
Kazahkstan 3
- Futurist architecture of Astana (Nur-Sultan)
- Baikonur Cosmodrome
- Ustyurt Plateau
Laos 1
- Si_Phan_Don / Four Thousand Islands
Malaysia 1
- Cameron Highlands
Maldives 2
- Baa Atoll
- Coral stone mosques
Micronesia 1
- Yapese money sites
Mongolia 3
- Cretaceous Dinosaur Fossil Sites in the Mongolian Gobi
- Desert Landscapes of the Mongolian Great Gobi
- Eastern Mongolian Steppes
Myanmar 4
- Mrauk-U
- Shwedagon Pagoda on Singuttara Hill
- Myeik Archipelago (also Mergui)
- Wooden Monasteries of Konbaung Period
Nepal 1
- Annapurna 7-8K Mountain Ranges
New Zealand 4
- Rotorua and surroundings.
- Kermadec Islands and Marine reserve (White Island)
- Napier
- Ross Island
Pakistan 2
- Archaeological Site of Harappa
- Central Karakorum National Park - Contains many of the highest mountains in world
Palau 1
- Yapese money sites
Philippines 7
- Mount Mantalingahan Protected Landscape
- El Nido-Taytay Managed Resource Protected Area
- Chocolate Hills Natural Monument
- Verde Island Passage
- Taal: Testimony of a volcano and the evolution of a Spanish Colonial Town
- Karst Landscapes of the Philippines
- Austronesian Migration Routes
PNG (Papua New Guinea) 4
- Sites of the Lapita culture (serial, transnational)
- Kokoda Track and Owen Stanley Ranges
- Kikori River Basin
- Trans-Fly Complex (transnational)
Republic of Korea 4
- Stone Buddhas and Pagodas at Hwasun Unjusa Temple
- Jeong-dong: Old Legation Quarter
- Baekdudaegan Range: Mt. Geumgang and Mt. Seorak [DMZ International Peace Zone]
- Southwestern Coast Tidal Flats
Samoa 1
- Sites of the Lapita culture (serial, transnational)
Solomon Islands 1
- Sites of the Lapita culture (serial, transnational)
Taiwan 1
- Taroko National Park
Tajikistan 2
- Tigrovaya Balka Nature Reserve
- Silk Roads: Penjikent-Samarkand-Poykent Corridor (includes chor-bakr)
Thailand 1
- Monuments, Sites and Cultural Landscape of Chiang Mai, Capital of Lanna
Timor Leste 1
- Nino Konis Santana National Park
Tonga 1
- Sites of the Lapita culture (serial, transnational)
Turkmenistan 1
- Ustyurt Plateau
Uzbekistan 4
- Bahoutdin Architectural Complex
- Desert Castles of Ancient Khorezm
- Silk Roads: Penjikent-Samarkand-Poykent Corridor (includes chor-bakr)
- Ustyurt Plateau
Vanuatu 2
- Volcanoes of Vanuatu
- Sites of the Lapita culture (serial, transnational)
Vietnam 2
- Colonial Hanoi
- Ban Gioc Waterfall System

To summarize any proposed sites that may have been missed or overlooked. Please no mass approvals and if you do wish to second a proposal (if possible) try to briefly explain your reasoning and/or the OUV of the site.

Proposed:
Hutongs of Beijing (also included in #91) (China)
Great Walks of New Zealand (New Zealand)
Ancient Termiz (Uzbekistan)
Dinosaurs and Caves of Koytendag (Turkmenistan)
The Historical-Cultural Axis of Fin, Sialk, Kashan (Iran)
Inle Lake (Myanmar)
Paleolithic Archaeological Sites in Cagayan Valley (Philippines)
Rakiura National Park (New Zealand)
Abbassid mosques in Damghan, Siraf and Nayin (Iran)
Mount Kaputar Alpine Ecosystem (Australia)
The Pinnacles (Australia)
Lonar Crater/Lake (India)
Mahabat Maqbara and the Tomb of Bahar-ud-din Bhar, Junagadh (India)
Chitrashala paintings of Bundi (India)
Sultanate of Yogyakarta Palace Complexes (Indonesia)
Mustang Cultural Landscape (Nepal)
Southern Cardamom NP (Cambodia)
Sovi Basin (Fiji)
Colonial Botanical Gardens (India)
Colonial Botanical Gardens (Thailand)
Kahurangi National Park, Farewell Spit and Canaan karst system (New Zealand)
Ba Be National Park (Vietnam)
Gabaldon School Buildings of the Philippines (Philippines
Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route (1565-1815) (Mexico)
Manila-Acapulco Galleon Trade Route (1565-1815) (Philippines)
Archaeological Sites of the Ancient Shu State (China)
Mausoleum of the Nanyue King (China)
Brahmaputra Canyon (China)
Imam Reza Holy Complex (Iran)
Marine Landscape of the Banda Islands (Indonesia)
Monastery of St. Amenaprkich (Vank) (Iran)
Sufi Mausoleums of Multan (Pakistan)
Badshahi sadak / Grant trunk road (India/Pakistan/Bangladesh/Afghanistan) (India)
Nagari Sijunjung (Indonesia)
Funafuti Conservation Area (Tuvalu)
Historic Takayama (Japan)
Nagarparkar Cultural Landscape (Pakistan)
Derawar and the Desert Forts of Cholistan (Pakistan)
Deosai National Park (Pakistan)
Issyk-Kul Basin (Kyrgyzstan)
Kansai International Airport (Japan)
Japanese Colonial Sites in Taiwan (Taiwan)
Qingdao (China)
Armistice Complex at Panmunjon (DMZ) (Korea)
Communist Architecture of China / Ten Great Buildings (China)
The government district of Dhaka (Bangladesh)

One more last minute proposal.

Name: The Historic and Marine Landscape of the Banda Islands
Country: Indonesia
TWHS: Yes
Description: Also known under the name 'Spice Islands', as this island group was the original and sole location of the production of the spices nutmeg and mace during the most prosperous years of Dutch, English and Portuguese colonization. The past colonial conquests of the Europeans have completely changed our world today, and not only did this history start in the Banda Islands, but also much of the required capital to explore the rest of the world was earned here. Therefore, the historic remnants on the Banda islands represent the very threshold of colonial domination in world history.
It is listed as a mixed site and cultural landscape which is acceptable. It seems weird to me that so much colonial history was influenced and initially driven by a search for spices that we haven't given more consideration to where it all started.

This site also involves PNG.


I think Indonesia is underrepresented as well as colonialism in the Pacific (so far we only have the Ombilin and the Australian convict sites) so I will give this proposal my vote. Yet I think the mixed site concept is an overstretch, as the natural values only relate to the marine environment whereas the cultural landscape components are terrestrial. I would prefer a nomination purely under cultural criteria.


I am very impressed by Derawar fortress. It is very massive, is in the middle of nowhere, is well preserved (including its interior) and together with the remains of further fortresses in Cholistan represent a mediaeval trade route. I second this proposal, which would add something to the list different from India.
https://www.dawn.com/news/1311657


Was this a proposal?

@winterkjm: Thanks for summarising the proposals before the deadline. It's extremely helpful.

This was already proposed by me. If you suggest the same, then we can treat this as seconded.

There is another proposal for Gol Gumbaz India. I had seconded the same (& wished to change the name as Deccan monuments to be in line with TL).
The forum may keep either the name of Gol Gumbaz or Deccan monuments (as perTL).

kkanekahn
Sorry, I guess I missed it in the massive list.

Supporting these:


This will represent the early commercial maritime trade and globalization, and consolidation of governance amongst Spanish colonies. Cultural.


Covers a wide variety of temperate terrains in the Pacific of extreme beauty--from beaches to mountains.

Well after Chuo Maglev Shinkansen is completed, Japan Rail is planning to revamp the whole Tokaido Shinkansen with many stations and facilities upgrade and reroute, even more stations, so I would like to wait and see are there any original of early Shinkansen network left.

Regarding to this NP, Japanese Alps is one of the main candidates of Japanese next natural WHS, from all Japanese Alps mountain range, there are two clusters that Japanese government is planning to nominate Hida Mountain Range (Kita-Alps or Northern Alps) and Akaishi Mountain Range (Minami-Alps or Western Alps). The Chubu-Sangoku NP are part of Hida Mountain Range. Interestingly according to preliminary study by local experts these two clusters are comparable to WHS Canadian Rockies and Yosemite NP in California.

I had this included in #3 Baekdudaegan Range: Mt. Geumgang and Mt. Seorak [DMZ International Peace Zone] which has already been Approved.

I would rather keep just one DMZ related nomination, yet the most outstanding (TOP Missing) value (in my mind) would always be natural. A natural environment untouched by human contact for 70 years and buffered by massive nature preserves? To me this is invaluable. The Armistice Complex at Panmunjom is perhaps one of the most representative sites connected to the Cold War, but it's small and there is not much else worth saving beyond this. I am almost certain South Korea will be in favor of destroying nearly everything else that symbolizes this long division. I cannot say I disagree. Concrete guard towers, barb wire fences, areas that are heavily mined, I mean there is not much value there? One complication, the DMZ holds a lot more history than just Panmunjom, there are archeological sites from various dynasties, Buddhist Temples that have not been inhabited for the better part of a century and left to decay for 70+ years. In some ways its simpler to recognize Panmunjom as a symbol of the Cold War, but either way one large all encompassing proposal probably makes more sense and will likely be the path taken if a nomination moves forward in the coming years.

The idea of connecting Mt. Seorak and Mt. Kumgang has ben proposed and I found it one of the most elegant and ambitious proposals connected to the DMZ. Baekdudaegan Range is often called the "spine or backbone" of Korea and the DMZ (as it currently functions) severs this mountain range. However, North Korea has received international assistance to nominate Mt. Kumgang alone, so we shall see what actually comes to fruition. There are potentially 3 options for the DMZ and world heritage status. Panmunjom as a cultural site alone. The entirety of the DMZ (including Panmunjom) as a cultural landscape or mixed property, probably under the title DMZ International Peace Zone. Lastly, the DMZ International Peace Zone plus Mt. Seorak & Mt. Kumgang, which would include the whole DMZ plus nearby reserves to effectively re-connect the "backbone of Korea" (Baekdudaegan Mountain Range). My proposal is the last one, because its aim is so ambitious and encompasses all cultural and natural values in and around the DMZ.

I'd like to second this, and would propose to extend it to the "Issyk-Kul Biosphere Reserve"

According to Wikipedia, Issyk-Kul "is a Ramsar site of globally significant biodiversity" and "the second largest saline lake after the Caspian Sea".

Cultural: The lake level is some 8 metres higher than in medieval times. Divers have found the remains of submerged settlements in shallow areas around the lake. In December 2007, a report was released that archaeologists have discovered the remains of a 2500-year-old advanced civilization at the bottom of the Lake. The data and artifacts obtained suggest that the ancient city was a metropolis in its time. The discovery consisted of formidable walls, some stretching for 500 metres and traces of a large city with an area of several square kilometers.

Natural: The lake contains highly endemic fish biodiversity, and some of the species, including four endemics, are seriously endangered.

I would like to give this a second to, because Derawar Fort looks so stunning to me.

(Wikipedia) The forty bastions of Derawar are visible for many miles in the Cholistan Desert. The walls have a perimeter of 1500 metres and stand up to thirty metres high. Derawar Fort is a "historically significant fort that presents an enormous and impressive structure in the heart of the Cholistan desert, but it is rapidly deteriorating and in need of immediate preventive measures for preservation".
The forts are a witness of the caravan trade, which lead to the construction of these forts in the medieval period to protect trade routes.

EDIT: I hadn't seen Assif had already seconded.

I'd like to propose two new sites too:

Full name of site: Ekamra Kshetra – The Temple City, Bhubaneswar
Country: India
TWHS?: yes (see title)
Short description of site: (Wikipedia) Bhubaneswar is a confluence of Hindu, Buddhist and Jain heritage boasting of some of the finest Kalingan temples. With many 6th-13th century CE Hindu temples, which span the entire spectrum of Kalinga architecture, Bhubaneswar is often referred to as a "Temple City of India", supposed to have had over one thousand temples. With the diverse ranges of heritage resources, it showcases significant sacred cultural landscape components which have evolved with the support of available natural resource base and cultural trigger. Temples are made in the Kalinga architectural style with a pine spire that curves up to a point over the sanctum housing the presiding deity and a pyramid-covered hall where people sit and pray. Among the monuments are the Lingaraja Temple, the Mukteshvara Temple, the Ananta Vasudeva Temple and the Udayagiri and Khandagiri Caves.
Criteria: Cultural

Full name of site: Cultural landscape of Udaipur
Country: India
TWHS?: no
Short description of site: (Wikipedia) Udaipur, also known as the "City of Lakes" because of its sophisticated lake system, is a city in the state of Rajasthan in India. Dubbed "the most romantic spot on the continent of India" by British administrator James Tod, Udaipur is a tourist destination and is known for its history, culture, scenic locations and the Rajput-era palaces. The lakes in and around Udaipur, such as Lake Pichola and Fateh Sagar Lake, were primarily created by building dams to meet the drinking water and irrigation needs of the city.
Besides lakes, Udaipur is also known for its historic forts and palaces, museums, galleries, natural locations and gardens, architectural temples, as well as traditional fairs, festivals and structures. Among the historical monuments are the City Palace, the Jag Mandir, the Monsoon Palace and the Jagdish Temple. The landscape also comprises the Ahar Cenotaphs, 2 km east of Udaipur and Lake Badi, an artificial fresh water lake about 12 km from the city.
Criteria: Mixed