South China Karst

The South China Karst is a serial World Heritage property made up of multiple karst landscapes in southern China, noted for exceptionally well-developed limestone karst landforms. It was first inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2007.

The karst landscapes formed over millions of years through chemical weathering of limestone and subsequent collapse and erosion; there is no single builder or date. Some areas have been used and managed by local communities for centuries for grazing, small-scale agriculture and water management, but their primary significance is geological and geomorphological.

The serial property spans parts of southern China across several provinces and municipalities, including well-known karst areas in Yunnan, Guangxi, Guizhou and Chongqing. Components are dispersed rather than contiguous and are reached from regional cities such as Kunming, Guilin and Chongqing.

• UNESCO inscription: Inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2007 with later extensions, covering multiple protected areas across several provinces in southern China.
• What to expect: Look for distinct karst features in different components - vertical limestone towers, dolines and sinkholes, large cave systems, and natural bridges - each component shows different stages and expressions of karst development.

What to See #

• Major components: A collection of distinct karst areas that together illustrate different karst landforms, including the **Shilin (Stone Forest)** in Yunnan, the karst towers and river gorges around Guilin in Guangxi, the forested dolines and caves of Libo in Guizhou, and the natural bridges and karst canyons of Wulong in Chongqing.