China Silk Road and Grand Canal were inscribed on the list of World Heritage Sites on July 22th, 2014

Jointly submitted by China, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, the application for adding part of the Silk Road, which served as a corridor for trade and cultural exchanges between Asia and Europe dating back to 2,000 years ago, to the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) list was approved by the World Heritage Committee at a session in the Qatari capital. Meanwhile, the Grand Canal with a history of over 2,400 years also were inscribed on the World Heritage list.

The application for Silk Road consists of 33 historical sites along the millennium-old trade route, including 22 in China, eight in Kazakhstan and three in Kyrgyzstan. They range from palaces and pagoda sites in cities to ruins in remote, inaccessible deserts.  Xian, the starting point of Silk road, with Hexi Corridor(famous for Zhangye rainbow mountains, Jiayuguan Great Wall, Yumenguan Great Wall Pass, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes, Yumen Yadan Demon Castle) are the perfcet places to feel the Silk Road Culture in China. Silk Road Tour for reference

With 1700 kilometers in length, Grand Canal starts from Beijing in the north and ends at Hangzhou in the south passing through the north-eastern and central-eastern plains of China. Initially created at the period of Spring-Autumn Period, within the fifth century BC, the Grand Canal was extended within the seventh century, and once more within the thirteenth century. The building of the canal led to a series of gigantic worksites, creating the world's largest and most extensive civil engineering project before the Industrial Revolution. Suzhou is one of the perfect places to feel elegant Grand Canal culture.