Heritage with Related Tags
Human Rights, Liberation and Reconciliation: Nelson Mandela Memorial
<p>The Nelson Mandela Sites of Commemoration represent a treasure trove of South Africa’s struggle for human rights, liberation and reconciliation. The collection consists of 14 sites across the country that tell the story of South Africa’s 20th century political history. They include: the Union Buildings (Pretoria), the current seat of government; the Sharpeville site, commemorating the 69 citizens massacred in protest against the unjust Pass Laws; and the Great Place in Mqhekezweni, where Mandela lived as a young man and symbolizes the spirit of traditional leadership. These sites reflect key events in the long struggle against apartheid, Mandela’s influence in promoting understanding and forgiveness, and belief systems based on philosophies such as non-racialism, Pan-Africanism and Ubuntu. The Ubuntu philosophy holds that humanity is not limited to individuals. </p>
Mapungubwe Cultural Landscape
Mapungubwe is located on the northern border of South Africa, linking Zimbabwe and Botswana. It is an open grassland at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shache rivers. Mapungubwe developed into the largest kingdom in the subcontinent until it was abandoned in the 14th century. What survives are the remains of a palace almost untouched and an entire settlement attached to it, as well as the remains of two early capital cities, all of which present an unparalleled picture of the development of social and political structures over more than 400 years.
Cultural Landscape of Honghe Hani Rice Terraces
The Honghe Hani Rice Terraces Cultural Landscape is located in southern Yunnan and covers 16,603 hectares. The terraces are spectacular, stretching from the slopes of the towering Ailao Mountains to the banks of the Red River. Over the past 1,300 years, the Hani people have developed a complex system of canals to bring water from the forested mountaintops to the terraces. They have also created an integrated agricultural system that includes buffalo, cattle, ducks, fish and eels, and supports the production of red rice, the region's main crop. Local residents worship the sun, moon, mountains, rivers, forests and other natural phenomena, including fire. They live in 82 villages between the mountaintop forests and the terraces. The villages feature traditional thatched "mushroom" houses. The terraces' resilient land management system is based on remarkable and long-standing social and religious structures, demonstrating extraordinary visual and ecological harmony between people and the environment.
Mbanza Kongo, Vestiges of the Capital of the former Kingdom of Kongo
Located on a plateau at 570 meters above sea level, the town of Mbanza Kongo was the political and spiritual capital of the Kingdom of Kongo, one of the largest states in southern Africa from the 14th to the 19th century. The historic area developed around the royal palace, customary courts and sacred trees, as well as royal funeral sites. When the Portuguese arrived in the 15th century, they added stone buildings built according to European methods and constructed with local materials to the existing urban agglomeration. Mbanza Kongo, more than anywhere else in sub-Saharan Africa, reflects the profound changes brought about by the introduction of Christianity and the Portuguese presence in Central Africa.
Barberton Makhonjwa Mountains
The Barberton Makhonwa Mountains are located in northeastern South Africa and comprise 40% of the Barberton Greenstone Belt, one of the oldest geological formations in the world. The property represents the best-preserved sequence of volcanic and sedimentary rocks dating back to 3.6 to 3.25 billion years ago and is a treasure trove of information on surface conditions, meteorite impacts, volcanic activity, continental formation processes and the environment of early life.
Te Wahipounamu – South West New Zealand
The landscape of this park in southwestern New Zealand is a result of successive glaciations that have shaped fjords, rocky coasts, towering cliffs, lakes and waterfalls. Two-thirds of the park is covered in southern beech and podocarp trees, some of which are more than 800 years old. The world's only alpine parrot, the kea, lives in the park, as well as the rare and endangered taka, a large flightless bird.