Quanzhou Added to UNESCO World Heritage List

Chinas eastern port city of Quanzhou in Fujian Province won UNESCO World Cultural Heritage status on July 25， bringing the total number of the countrys UNESCO World Heritage sites to 56.

UNESCO acknowledged “Quanzhou： Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China” as a cultural property on its World Heritage List during the 44th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Fuzhou， capital of east Chinas Fujian Province.

Located on narrow plains along the coastline of Fujian， Quanzhou was one of the worlds largest ports along the historic Maritime Silk Road， particularly during ancient Chinas Song Dynasty （960-1279） and Yuan Dynasty（1271-1368）.

The serial proterty includes 22 sites of administrative buildings and structures， religious buildings， and statues， and in its heyday hosted multi-cultural communities， cultural memorial sites and monuments， ceramics and iron production workshops， and a transportation network made up of bridges， docks， and pagodas that guided voyages.

“It reflects greatly a spatial structure that combined production， transportation， and marketing. It demonstrates the key institutional， social， and cultural factors that contributed to the spectacular rise and prosperity of Quanzhou as a maritime hub of the East and Southeast Asia trade network during the 10th to 14th centuries AD，” said a report by the International Council on Monuments and Sites （ICOMOS）， the committees official advisory body.

It is the second time the city has applied for the prestigious title. In 2018， Chinas nomination “Historic Monuments and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou（Zayton）” was referred back for a second chance when the committee met in Bahrain in 2018.

China made significant technical adjustments and resubmitted the application as “Quanzhou： Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China，” with the former 16 sites included in the serial nomination expanded to 22 sites， according to Zhang Lei. Zhang is head of the world cultural heritage department under Chinas National Cultural Heritage Administration and made the remarks at a press conference.

20th “Chinese Bridge” Competition Held Online for Indian College Students

The 20th “Chinese Bridge” Chinese Proficiency Competition for Foreign University Students （India） was conducted online recently.

Chinese Ambassador to India Sun Weidong said at the awards ceremony of the competition that the “Chinese Bridge” series of competitions is an important platform for young students from the world to learn Chinese and understand China， and it has become an important brand event for international cultural exchanges.

He said that the “Chinese Bridge” competition has built a bridge of culture， friendship， and soul that connects China and the world.

The theme “One Family in the World” deeply embodies the concept of “a community with a shared future for mankind，” and carries forward the cultural tradition of harmony and peace of the Chinese nation， he said.

China and India are both ancient civilizations， and cultural and educational exchanges between the two countries have a long history， Su indicated.

The “Chinese Bridge” connects the youth of China and India， Sun said， encouraging the students to continue learning Chinese and calling on more Indian youth to learn Chinese and become cultural envoys promoting ChinaIndia friendship.

A total of 23 Indian college contestants participated in the finals of the competition.

Chinese University to Open Branch in Israel

Chinas University of International Business and Economics （UIBE） will open a branch in Israel for undergraduate studies in business administration， Israels Council for Higher Education （CHE） said on July 29.

CHE spokeswoman Beata Krants said that the council has granted a license to the Chinese university to give lessons for the curriculum on a campus in the central city of Petah Tikva starting in October.

The Hebrew-language newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth reported that Matan Vilnai， former Israeli ambassador to China and former minister in the Israeli government， has been appointed president of the university branch.

The teaching staff will include six senior Chinese lecturers and five Israeli ones， according to the report.

UIBE， founded in 1951 and located in Beijing， is a multi-disciplinary university with economics， management， law， literature， and science as its core academic areas of expertise.