Jianmen Shu Road in Guangyuan, southwest China's Sichuan Province, won the 2025 Global Sustainable "Earth Home" Model Award for the project's outstanding protection of ecological and cultural heritage.
Presented on Dec 28, 2025, the award was linked to a proposal initiated by the World Harmony Foundation (WHF), one of the major non-governmental organizations of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
The projects in dozens of cities across the world entered the final phase of the judging process, with Jianmen Shu Road in Guangyuan winning the award for its outstanding performance in innovating ecological conservation systems, protecting cultural heritage, and promoting sustainable utilization.
The site is home to the world's best-preserved ancient cypress forest, with more than 20,000 trees over a century old.
It is also part of a road system known as "Shudao" or roads of the ancient Shu Kingdom in China, which spans over 1,000 km.
With a history of more than two millennia, Shudao winds its way through rugged mountains and tumultuous streams, connecting present-day Sichuan Province in the southwest with the northern Guanzhong Plain, once the heartland of ancient China.
Site in Sichuan wins UN award for outstanding protection of ecological, cultural heritage
