The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) added China's Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites to the World Heritage List on Saturday during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Busan, South Korea.
The inscription brings the total number of World Heritage sites in China to 61.
The Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites are a group of heritage sites representing the handicraft porcelain industry system that developed in Jingdezhen, east China's Jiangxi Province, from the 10th to the 19th century.
Porcelain of the highest quality was produced at Jingdezhen, and its blue-and-white porcelain and designs became a prized global commodity and a symbol of Chinese culture and artistry, according to UNESCO.
Covering an area of 1,979 hectares, with a 5,545.7-hectare buffer zone, the property comprises five parts: the Town Area Porcelain Production Center, the Hutian Ancient Kiln Site, the Gaoling Porcelain Clay Mining Site, the Changling Porcelain Stone Mining Site, and the Jiaotan Firewood Production Area.
According to the World Heritage Committee, the property exhibits the innovative development of China's handicraft porcelain making technology, porcelain art and porcelain industry, and evidences the profound impact of China's handicraft porcelain industry on the development of the world's ceramic industry and the exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.
The committee commended the efforts and achievements made by the Chinese government in the protection and management of the heritage site.
Addressing the World Heritage Committee on behalf of the Chinese government, Rao Quan, vice minister of culture and tourism and head of the National Cultural Heritage Administration, reaffirmed China's commitment to fully implementing the World Heritage Convention.
He said that China pledges to continue strengthening the integrated protection, conservation and sustainable use of the sites, while continues to work with UNESCO and other states parties to safeguard the shared heritage of humanity.
China's Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites added to UNESCO World Heritage List
China's digital economy continued its robust expansion in 2025, with the added value of the core industries accounting for over 10.5 percent of the country's gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report released Friday by the Cyberspace Administration of China.
The National Informatization Development Report (2025) showed the country's digital industry revenue reached 39.6 trillion yuan (approximately 5.8 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2025, marking an 8.8-percent growth year over year. Digital consumption by Chinese residents also surged, hitting 25.3 trillion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 8.7 percent.
The growth spurt came as China accelerated its transition toward a digitized economic model, partly driven by massive investments in foundational network infrastructure like 5G and Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6), the newest version of the Internet Protocol.
By the end of 2025, the total number of 5G base stations in the country surpassed 4.83 million, according to the report. Two-thirds of prefecture-level Chinese cities had met the standards for "gigabit cities," driven by widespread dual-gigabit network deployment and 5G infrastructure expansion.
The number of active users of IPv6 reached 869 million in the year, accounting for over 77 percent of China's total internet user base, the report said.
Data from the National Data Administration (NDA) showed that the added value of China's digital economy as a whole reached 49 trillion yuan in 2025, accounting for about 35 percent of the GDP.
According to classifications by the National Bureau of Statistics, China's digital economy covers five broad categories: digital product manufacturing, digital product services, digital technology applications, data factor-driven industries, and industries supported by digital efficiency improvements.
China has also signaled strong intentions to continue the sector's high-quality development in the coming years. The 15th Five-Year Plan (2026-2030) prioritizes efforts to advance Digital China development, as well as drive digital and intelligent transformation across all economic and social sectors.
Core industries in China's digital economy hit 10.5 pct of GDP in 2025: report
