Recently, a meeting to promote the joint application of 10 water towns to become world cultural heritages was held in Zhouzhuang of Kunshan. At the meeting, the Administrative Measures for the Heritage Protection for Water Towns in the South of the Yangtze River were approved. The agreement helps protect and manage water towns, further promoting their joint application as a world heritage.

Last November, six towns in Suzhou – Luzhi, Zhouzhuang, Qiandeng, Jinxi, Shaxi and Tongli – and four in Zhejiang – Wuzhen, Xitang, Nanxun and Xinshi – were listed in the updated Tentative List of World Heritage in China.

Relevant people from the 10 towns, heritage experts, and cultural authorities from Jiangsu and Zhejiang attended the meeting to discuss the application.

An office for heritage application was established at the meeting to strengthen the study of water town heritage and values and provide academic support for the application.