Daming Palace, the former residence of Empress Wu, the only female ruler in China, was officially listed as one of the first 12 national heritage parks at the Grand Sites Protection Conference & Award Ceremony for National Heritage Parks held in Chengdu, Sichuan province by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage (SACH) on November 18.

The national heritage park, which differs from the ordinary city parks or theme parks, is a new type of heritage protection, indicating parks are able to serve many other functions, including scientific research, education and tourism.

The evaluation and selection which was conducted by the SACH started in July. Daming Palace, which is located in Xi’an, gained recognition with its rich historical culture, scientific research value and advanced mode of site protection.

After preliminary examinations, site survey, and experts’ reexamination and voting, Daming Palace was selected by the SACH as one of the first 12 national heritage parks.

By Xie Fang and Wang Gongyuan