Heritage is our legacy from the past: we live with it today and pass it on to future generations. World Cultural Heritage is a touchstone, a point of reference for the identity of humanity. The concept of UNESCO World Heritage is exceptional because of its universal application. The protection of World Heritage sites is a common duty for all the peoples of the world, irrespective of the territory on which they are located. It is thus UNESCO’s aim to identify, protect and preserve this common inheritance throughout the world, with particular attention to sites that may be under threat in conflict stricken societies or during natural disasters. Read more about the World Heritage on the UNESCO World Heritage Centre Website.
Throughout the centuries, hundreds of sites and monuments with both cultural and historic value have been developed in different regions alongside the Silk Roads. Each of these sites or monuments not only represents the various customs and traditions of local communities, but also bears witness to the cultural interaction that took place in or around them, revealing the influence of cultures from around the world, brought into contact via the historic Silk routes.
The Silk Road Online Platform presents and promotes World Cultural Heritage Sites that have been inscribed in the UNESCO list of World Heritage. These sites are situated both alongside the Land Silk Roads and Maritime Silk Routes and can be consulted separately by using the Route Filter below.