5. China's Tusi sites listed as world heritage
These ruins in the Tangya chieftain city are in Central China's Hubei province. (Photo/Xinhua)
China's chieftain heritage sites, mainly concentrated in the mountainous areas of Hunan, Hubei and Guizhou in Southeast China, was inscribed in the World Heritage List in July.
Chieftains, also known as Tusi, were tribal leaders recognized as imperial officials by the government of the Yuan (1271-1368), Ming (1368-1644), and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties. The central governments back then made arrangements with local chieftains in order to rule the northwest and southwest frontiers and it proved a successful strategy.
