Historic Monuments of Dengfeng in "The Center of Heaven and Earth"
This set of historic structures are located near Mount Songshan in Dengfeng, Henan Province. The buildings were built across a period of more than 2,000 years from the Han to the Qing Dynasty.
In its traditional outlook on the universe, China, or "Zhongguo" in Chinese that literally means the "central state," was believed to be in the center of heaven and earth, with Dengfeng in the Central Plains as the central point. The place therefore became the best choice as the capital and cultural center of the early dynasties, playing a preeminent role in the emergence of the Chinese civilization and the formation of the Chinese nation.
The three mainstream schools of philosophical thinking in ancient China – Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism – all had preaching centers here. Dengfeng was also where people observed and measured heaven and earth. As a result, a large number of valuable cultural and commemorative buildings were built here, the essence of which was the historic monuments in "The Center of Heaven and Earth."
The complex comprises 11 ancient buildings at eight sites: Zhougong Sundial Platform and Astronomical Observatory, Songyue Temple Pagoda, Taishi Towers and Zhongyue Temple, Shaoshi Towers, Qimu Towers,
Songyang Academy, Huishan Temple, and Shaolin Temple compounds (resident compounds, Pagoda Forest and Chuzu Temple). Standing through 2,000 years from the Han, Wei, Tang, Song, and Yuan all the way to the Ming and Qing dynasties, it is in itself a living history book of architecture in the Central Plains.
The historic monuments of Dengfeng, especially the Shaolin Temple, are world-renowned. First built in 495, the Shaolin Temple is the cradle of the Chan sect of Chinese Buddhism and a birthplace of Chinese kung fu. It is reputed as the "No. 1 temple in the world" for its pivotal position in world Buddhist history. In August 2010, these historic buildings were included in the UNESCO's World Heritage List.
登封“天地之中”歷史建筑群
登封“天地之中”歷史建筑群，位于河南省登封市嵩山地區，該建筑群中的各建筑建成時間從漢朝至清朝，時間跨度達2000多年。
在中國古代傳統的宇宙觀中，中國是位居天地中央之國，而天地中心則在中原地區的登封，因而這里成為中國早期王朝建都之地和文化薈萃中心，并在中華文明起源和民族形成過程中起著主導作用。中國古代哲學思想三大流派“儒、釋、道”都在這里建立了弘揚傳播本流派文化的核心基地，此處也成為人們測天量地的中心。因此，登封匯聚和留存了大量珍貴的文化紀念建筑，其精華即登封“天地之中”歷史建筑群。
這組建筑群包括周公測景臺和觀星臺、嵩岳寺塔、太室闕和中岳廟、少室闕、啟母闕、嵩陽書院、會善寺、少林寺建筑群（常住院、塔林和初祖庵）等8處11項歷史建筑。歷經漢、魏、唐、宋、元、明、清，綿延不絕，構成了一部中國中原地區上下2000年形象直觀的建筑史。
“天地之中”歷史建筑群有著廣泛的國際影響，其中，少林寺更是舉世聞名。少林寺始建于公元495年，是中國佛教禪宗祖庭和中國功夫的發源地之一，被譽為“天下第一名剎”，在世界佛教史中具有重要地位。2010年8月，登封“天地之中”歷史建筑群被列入聯合國教科文組織《世界遺產名錄》。
