After being postponed for a year because of the COVID-19 outbreak, the World Heritage Committee's 44th session will be chaired in Fuzhou, capital of Fujian province, from July 16 to 31, the State Council Information Office announced at a news conference on Monday.

New entries to the World Heritage List of sites will be selected from the 45 nominations at the session, which falls under the UNESCO framework, said Tian Xuejun, director of China's National Commission for UNESCO and chairman of the extended 44th session of the World Heritage Committee. In addition, the state of conservation of 258 sites already inscribed on the list will be examined.

"The workload at this year's session will be double that of a normal year," Tian, who is also vice-minister of education, said at the news conference, explaining that World Heritage site nominations for 2020 and 2021 will be discussed.

"We'll also focus on challenges and risks faced by conservators around the world," he said. "We want to gather ideas to reach new consensuses and initiatives for a more balanced and sustainable development of the World Heritage sites."

Most of the session's events will be held through online platforms.

This year, "Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan China "could possibly be added to the list of China's World Heritage sites.

Quanzhou, in the south of Fujian province, was one of the world's largest seaports during the Song (960-1279) and Yuan (1271-1368) dynasties, making it an exchange hub for different civilizations of the Maritime Silk Road route. At that time, it was known as Zayton overseas.

Zhang Lei, a National Cultural Heritage Administration official in charge of World Cultural Heritage, said 22 heritage sites, including temples, port ruins, ancient bridges and a porcelain kiln, are included in the nominations.

'Cautiously optimistic'

"We've remained cautiously optimistic about the prospects of these sites," Zhang said, adding, "The work bidding for World Heritage status for the ancient city of Quanzhou has entered a new phase."

In 2018, the "Historic Monuments and Sites of Ancient Quanzhou (Zayton)" sought World Heritage status at the 42nd session of the World Heritage Committee. However, it was recommended at the session that a comprehensive thematic study of the site be made to further delineate its value.

"We've made a major improvement to the bid this time, ranging from management of the site, archaeology and an explanation of its value through documents," Zhang said.

China has 55 UNESCO World Heritage sites, more than any other country except Italy, which has the same number of sites.

"These heritage sites showcase brilliant achievements throughout Chinese civilization in different historical periods," Zhang said. "They reflect Chinese people's psychological pursuit and wisdom in protecting the environment. Through them, mutual understanding and trust between Chinese civilization and its overseas counterparts will be strengthened.

"China has included protection of World Heritage sites into its strategy of overall development through laws and its system of governance," Tian said. "World Heritage-related work has also been connected with the improvement of people's livelihoods."