Unesco's World Heritage Committee has added new sites to its World Heritage List, after discussions at the 44th Session in Fuzhou, China.
The meeting was originally scheduled for 2020 but was postponed until 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic. This meant nominations from both years were voted on and 15 new sites have been added to the list from across Europe and the world:
1. Arslantepe Mound, Turkey
Arslantepe Mound located southwest of the Euphrates River, dates from at least the 6th millennium B.C. and ancient weapons have been unearthed at the site. /MAIAO
2. Colonies of Benevolence, Belgium and the Netherlands
The transnational serial property includes a colony in Belgium and three in the Netherlands. /Province of Drenthe on behalf of all nomination partners
3. Cordouan Lighthouse, France
The Cordouan Lightouse is situated on a rocky plateau at the mouth of the Gironde estuary in the Atlantic Ocean. /DRAC Nouvelle-Aquitaine
4. Kakatiya Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple in Telangana, India
The Rudreshwara (Ramappa Temple) is the main Shiva temple in a walled complex built in the Kakatiyan Period. /ASI
5. Mathildenhoehe Darmstadt, Germany
The Darmstadt Artists' Colony on Mathildenhoehe was established in 1897 by Ernst Ludwig, the Grand Duke of Hesse, as a center for architecture, arts and crafts. /Nikolaus Heiss
6. Padua's 14th century fresco cycles, Italy
The site includes eight religious and secular building complexes within the historic city of Padua. /Comune di Padova Settore Cultura, Turismo, Musei e Biblioteche
7. Paseo del Prado and Buen Retiro, a landscape of Arts and Sciences, Spain
In the urban heart of Madrid, the 200-hectare site is brimming with trees and fountains, which are an iconic symbol of the city. /Ayuntamiento de Madrid
8. Quanzhou: Emporium of the World in Song-Yuan, China
Quanzhou encapsulates the city's vibrancy as a maritime emporium during the Song and Yuan periods and includes many religious buildings. /Quanzhou maritime Silk Road World heritage Nomination Center
9. The Great Spa Towns of Europe, including sites in Austria, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The spa towns located all across Europe bear witness to the continent's spa culture that developed from the early 18th century to the 1930s. /Ceska centrala cestovniho ruchu – CzechTourism
10. Trans-Iranian Railway, Iran
The Trans-Iranian Railway connects the Caspian Sea in the northeast with the Persian Gulf in the southwest, crossing two mountain ranges as well as rivers, highlands, forests, plains and two different climates. /Hossein Javadi
11. Ḥima Cultural Area, Saudi Arabia
In an arid and mountainous area, the Hima Cultural Area is covered with rock art images depicting hunting, fauna, flora and other lifestyles over a 7,000-year period. /SCTH
12. Amami-Oshima Island, Tokunoshima Island, Northern part of Okinawa Island, and Iriomote Island, Japan
Subtropical rainforests spread across four islands in the southwest of Japan, the site is entirely uninhabited by humans and has a very high percentage of endemic species. /MOEJ
13. Colchic Rainforests and Wetlands, Georgia
The site has seven component parts across an 80km-long corridor on the humid eastern coast of the Black Sea. /Agency of Protected Areas
14. Getbol, Korean Tidal Flats, Republic of Korea
In the eastern Yellow Sea, the site includes four component parts and complex geographic, oceanographic and climatological conditions have led to diverse sedimentary systems. /World Heritage Promotion Team of Korean Tidal Flat
15. Kaeng Krachan Forest Complex, Thailand
Located along the Thailand side of the Tenasserim mountain range and consisting of granite and limestone, the site is home to rich biodiversity. /Department of National Parks, Thailand