Kishore Rao, director of the World Heritage Center of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), recently led a delegation to Shaxi old town in Taicang, Jiangsu province.

Shaxi was the first of two stops on Rao whistle-stop tour of China. The UNESCO director hoped to offer suggestions with regards to the old town’s application for world heritage status.

Shaxi, along with 12 other old towns in Southeast China's Yangtze River region, is preparing to apply for world heritage listing. The towns include Suzhou’s Luzhi, Zhouzhuang, Qiandeng, Jinxi, Zhenze, Lili, Fenghuang and Tongli, and Zhejiang’s Wuzhen, Xitang, Nanxun and Xinshi.

Shaxi has a long history and rich specialties and offers distinctive sightseeing areas. Often muttered in the town is a famous folk saying, which reads, “Eighteen towns in South-East, Shaxi is the first.” Water Construction, Stone Arch Bridges and the Old Street are Shaxi's three main features, setting it apart from other towns.

In 2012, Shaxi was listed in the updated Tentative List of World Heritage in China.

Edited by Jacob Hooson