Date£º
2019-08-15 10:58 Source£º
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CH¡¯NG Poh Tiong Translator:
Legacy Peak, in Ningxia, is situated within a national park containing the imperial tombs and royal mausoleums of the Western Xia Dynasty (1038-1227)
A UNESCO Heritage Site in north-west China, the kingdom was contemporaneous with the Song Dynasty (960 ¨C 1279). The tombs are the best preserved cultural heritage representing the Tangut civilisation. They lie on the eastern slope of the Helan Mountains and are just 35 kilometres away from Yinchuan, the provincial capital. This is the second vintage of this wine. It¡¯s more Burgundian like than New World. Fermented entirely in barrel ¨C 50% new and 50% one-year old ¨C the wine stay in oak for 7 months. Bright straw/yellow. Ripe green melons, a hint of flint, and vanilla notes. Intensity of fruit, delicate creamy texture, and very lively. The 22-year old vines were planted in 1997 (the fruit was previously sold). The Liu Family, proprietors of Legacy Peak, are from Shandong.
UNESCO ¨C WORLD HERITAGE CONVENTION
Western Xia Imperial Tombs
Description
Western Xia Imperial Tombs are the royal mausoleums of the emperors in the Western Xia Dynasty (1038-1227). Located at the eastern slope of the Helan Mountains, western suburb about 35km away from Yinchuan City in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the Tombs are the best-preserved historic cultural heritage representing the Tangut civilization at the largest scale and in the highest rank.Built between the 11th and 13th centuries, the Tombs are connected with the Helan Mountains in the west and with the Yinchuan Plain and the Yellow River in the east. They are situated in a spacious land higher in the west than the east. Occupying an area of some 50 square kilometers, the Western Xia Imperial Tombs include 9 imperial mausoleums, 254 subordinate tombs, 1 site of large architectural complex and more than 10 brick-and-tile kiln sites. The imperial mausoleums are lined up along the eastern slope of the Helan Mountains from north to south. The whole grand burial complex extends like a long and narrow south-north ribbon.
Set in the vast Gobi desert in front of the rolling Helan Mountains, the Tombs narrates the unique historical atmosphere and ethnic features of the Western Xia Dynasty by the magnificent layout, tiered tomb walls, high towers and various mausoleum buildings. Many unearthed funerary objects and the remaining cultural relics such as inscriptions, stone statues and building components take on vivid shapes, unique ornamentations, and living nomadic features.
Justification of Outstanding Universal Value
The Tangut civilization, an ethnic minority civilization, prospering in an agricultural-husbandry area in Northwest China, shows its excellent adaptability and outstanding cultural diversity. The general layout of the Tombs imitates the imperial mausoleum construction of the Northern Song Dynasty. In terms of site selection, layout, burial ways, building techniques and arts, the builders not only learned the experience from the ritual system and cultural achievements of the Northern Song Dynasty but also combined their own ethnic customs such as mountain worship, belief in necromancy and aesthetic orientations, reflecting the strong characteristics of the Tangut civilization¡¯s inclusiveness and cultural fusion. As the site of the large tomb group for the Western Xia emperors, the Tombs bear special witness to the long vanishedTangut civilization.
Criterion (iii): Tangut civilization was created by the Tangut people, an ethnic minority group, and prospered in an agricultural-husbandry area in Northwest China between the 11th and 13th centuries. Occupying a special position in the Chinese history, the West Xia civilization made great contributions to China¡¯s diverse culture. As the imperial mausoleums of the Western Xia Dynasty, the Tombs have well preserved the Tangut civilization at the largest scale and in the highest rank, which also could serve as a special witness to the existence of the long vanished Tangut civilization with excellent adaptability and outstanding cultural diversity.
Statements of authenticity and/or integrity
Authenticity
The Western Xia Imperial Tombs remain as ruins since the fall of Western Xia Dynasty in 1227. People can clearly see the location and layout of the burial complex. A variety of cultural relics have been well-preserved, including the tomb walls, tomb platforms, foundations and building components. The burial ways, construction techniques and arts of the Tombs truly reflect the unique values of Tangut civilization in widely learning from others and advocating cultural fusion. Therefore, the Tombs manifest a high degree of authenticity.
Integrity
The Western Xia Imperial Tombs have all attributes that contributing to the heritage values such as the setting, location, layout, the imperial mausoleums, the subordinate tombs and large building complex sites, as well as all related cultural relics. They bear testimony to the unique heritage values of the Tangut civilization. Various mausoleum sites in large numbers reflect the immense scale and high rank, various composition and exquisite craftsmanship of the Western Xia Imperial Tombs, representing the well-developed and distinctive Tangut civilization. Effective conservation and management measures have been taken to protect the Western Xia Imperial Tombs. Negative impacts have been controlled. The nominated property has high degree of integrity.
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