“The 'three-benefits' principle proposed by President Xi is fundamental for our application work,“ said Zheng Jun, a researcher at the China Academy of Cultural Heritage, who is also a World Heritage consultant for the International Council on Monuments and Sites. “It gets rid of the old narrative of history that often centered on the West.“

　　For locals who live around the World Heritage sites, the legacies left by their ancestors bear new fruit. Last year, Xi called for efforts to take UNESCO inclusion as an opportunity to further strengthen the comprehensive and systematic protection of cultural and natural heritage and make good use of the sites to better meet the people's needs.

　　“The application is essentially a process of enhancing protection of the heritage, as each site needs to be improved in legal protection, heritage management and monitoring, and its value must be explained to prepare for the application,“ said Zheng, adding that “World Heritage sites are key tourist brands“.

　　For example, “The Cultural Landscape of Old Tea Forests of the Jingmai Mountain in Pu'er“, in Yunnan province, was listed in 2023. This mountainous area has become a haven for an ancient planting technique, in which tea trees are cultivated under forest canopies. The method is known as the “understory“ growing technique, by which sunshine is filtered and moisture ensured.

　　“It represents a format of sustainable development,“ Zheng said. “Gaining World Heritage status helps to protect the local ecosystem and cultural tradition. It also greatly improves the value of local tea and thus the economy booms.“