When mentioning UNESCO World Heritage, you may think of famous cultural and natural heritage sites such as the Taj Mahal in India and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but do you know that “cultural landscapes” represent more than 10% of the World Heritage List? The listed cultural landscapes include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK, the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces in China, and the Tongariro National Park in New Zealand, etc. In Hong Kong, we also have some well-known places which are “cultural landscapes”, such as the Lion Rock, Tai O Stilt Houses and Lai Chi Wo. Formed under the long-term harmonious human-nature interaction, cultural landscapes can inspire us to transcend the conventional dichotomy between culture and nature and help us pursue sustainable development from a holistic perspective.

When mentioning UNESCO World Heritage, you may think of famous cultural and natural heritage sites such as the Taj Mahal in India and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but do you know that “cultural landscapes” represent more than 10% of the World Heritage List? The listed cultural landscapes include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK, the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces in China, and the Tongariro National Park in New Zealand, etc. In Hong Kong, we also have some well-known places which are “cultural landscapes”, such as the Lion Rock, Tai O Stilt Houses and Lai Chi Wo. Formed under the long-term harmonious human-nature interaction, cultural landscapes can inspire us to transcend the conventional dichotomy between culture and nature and help us pursue sustainable development from a holistic perspective.

When mentioning UNESCO World Heritage, you may think of famous cultural and natural heritage sites such as the Taj Mahal in India and the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, but do you know that “cultural landscapes” represent more than 10% of the World Heritage List? The listed cultural landscapes include the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew in the UK, the Honghe Hani Rice Terraces in China, and the Tongariro National Park in New Zealand, etc. In Hong Kong, we also have some well-known places which are “cultural landscapes”, such as the Lion Rock, Tai O Stilt Houses and Lai Chi Wo. Formed under the long-term harmonious human-nature interaction, cultural landscapes can inspire us to transcend the conventional dichotomy between culture and nature and help us pursue sustainable development from a holistic perspective.