The group of mausoleums near Beijing where were buried 13 emperors of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and therefore called "Ming's Thirteen Tombs" in Chinese, were added to the WHL during the 27th session of the UNESCO's World Heritage Committee.

The Ming imperial tomb in Nanjing, China's eastern province of Jiangsu, where was buried Zhu Yuanzhang -- first emperor of the Ming dynasty, was also put on to the list.

The two groups of tombs are seen as showcase of the funeral architecture and culture centuries ago in China.

Together with three other Ming and Qing mausoleums, the World Heritage Committee now counts five Chinese imperial tombs on its list, established in the 1970s to better protect world's cultural and natural heritage.

The Committee, organ depending on the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), on Wednesday also put the area of the confluence of three major rivers in China's southwestern province of Yunnan onto its list of natural heritage.

The area, where join Nuiang River, Lancang River and Jinsha River, covers about 41,000 square kilometers in Yunnan Province, to the south of the Qinghai-Tibet Highland. It is famous for its peculiar physiognomy and biological diversity

As of today, on the WHL of more than 730 sites, 29 properties are in China, 21 of which are cultural, four natural and four mixed. The most famous ones are the Great Wall, Mount Taishan, Mogao Caves, Potala Palace, Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian in Beijing and others.

(Xinhua News Agency July 4, 2003)