The coastal province of Zhejiang in east China is stepping up efforts to apply for six of its cultural and natural sites to be enlisted in the world heritage list.

The sites include: Liangzhu prehistoric relics site, the West Lake, Yandangshan Mountain, ancient village complex by the Nanxijiang river, and a village complex chained by waters in northern province.

Experts said they are very confident that the village complex chained by water being added to the list. The village fully demonstrates the originality and distinctiveness of residences in the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

The Yandangshan Mountain, which owes its peculiar shape to the evolution of volcanoes, represents the typical type of volcano on the brink of the Asian continent, and it is even older than the Andes Mountains in Latin America, experts said.

As for the West Lake, experts from Harvard University have already worked out four programs for the application.

Zhejiang hopes to succeed in the application of at least one site, sources from the local authority said.

China accounts for 3.6 percent of the total in the world cultural and natural heritage list.

(Eastday.com 03/05/2001)