Guangxi rock paintings listed as world heritage in Istanbul session

ISTANBUL, July 15 -- Rock paintings from China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region has been listed as world heritage on Friday by the World Heritage Committee, at its 40th session in Istanbul.

The rock paintings consist of more than 1,900 drawings. They are one of the largest and best protected rock paintings in the world.

They are located along the 200-kilometer-long riverside of the Zuojiang River.

Some 2,500 people from around the world are participating in the 11-day annual session of the heritage committee, which was formed in 1977 to enforce the World Heritage Convention and manage the heritage list created based on the convention.

The World Heritage Committee, during its two-day meeting on Wednesday and Thursday, completed the examination of the state of conservation of 108 sites inscribed on the prestigious World Heritage List.

As of now, the list has 1,031 sites in more than 160 countries.

The advisory bodies urged the committee to adopt protective measures for the sites, stressing that many threats have resulted from both natural causes and human interventions.