SNOW-CAPPED MOUNTAINS: Two tourists enjoy the picturesque landscape of Heaven Lake on the Tianshan Mountains (YIN DONGXUN)

Indeed, Tianshan's success couldn't happen without these herdsmen's support for the application work. The herdsmen, along with the government, have made great efforts to help the ecology in the four nominated areas of the Tianshan Mountains.

A number of environmentally unfriendly industrial and mining enterprises were shut down in the nominated areas. A large number of buildings, including hotels and hydropower stations, were removed. Also, the local government prohibited pasturing in an area of 180,000 hectares. In addition, more than 150 km of road were reconstructed.

In the 1980s and 1990s, many big companies and state organs built nursing homes or resorts around the Heaven Lake scenic spot. And many of the scenic spot's administrative departments also built their offices there, said Gao Feng, an official with the local administrative committee.

In recent years, these buildings seemed increasingly inconsistent with the greater natural landscape. More than 20 such buildings, including shopping malls, restaurants and hotels, were moved to other places, said Gao.

An excellent example was the Hotel Western Queen in the Heaven Lake scenic spot. The hotel was built in 2000. It was the only three-star hotel and also the largest building in the scenery spot. Experts of the application team pointed out the hotel's style didn't match its surrounding natural landscape, which went against UNESCO requirements. So the Administrative Committee of the Heaven Lake Scenery Spot closed the hotel in April 2012 and built it into green land.

Rising soft power

"Protection of world heritage sites has been an important aspect of promoting the country's soft power," said Tong Mingkang, Deputy Director of China's State Administration of Cultural Heritage, who led the Chinese delegation for the WHC's 37th session.

Observers believe the Tianshan Mountains' successful inscription is not only a result of China's efforts in protecting its natural properties, but also an excellent display of its rising national soft power.

"Congratulations, China!" said Ek Tha, spokesman for the 37th WHC session. "Your country is becoming more known to the outside world with the listing of the Tianshan Mountains on the world heritage list. The outstanding universal values of the Tianshan Mountains deserve recognition on the list."

The inscription was another example that China has been playing a great role in protecting and preserving the natural environment so that the next generations will also benefit from them, said Ek Tha.

China has made considerable progress in protecting world heritage, said Tong while speaking of the Chinese participation in UNESCO's world heritage protection.

China joined UNESCO's World Cultural and Natural Heritage Protection Convention in 1985. Two years later, it attained its first batch of world heritage sites in 1987, including the Forbidden City, the Great Wall, the Peking Man Site at Zhoukoudian, Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes and Taishan Mountain.

However, the inscription on the world heritage list was only "the first step of the long march," with the further protection of such sites as the more important task, said Tong.

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