By being included on the World Heritage Tentative List, the application for the "Hainan Tropical Rainforest and the Traditional Settlement of Li Ethnic Group" as a joint cultural and natural heritage site has recently made new progress in its application to be considered as a World Heritage site.

Maintained by United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and announced on their official website, the Tentative List features sites which—according to the processes laid out by the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS),  the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Heritage Committee—state parties have nominated sites for consideration.

The World Heritage List is a UNESCO project which seeks to encourage the identification, protection, and preservation of cultural and natural heritage around the world considered to be of outstanding value to humanity.

On their official website, UNESCO explained: “The nominated property of Hainan Tropical Rainforest and the Traditional Settlement of Li Ethnic Group, located in the southern-central part of Hainan Island, which is a sanctuary for numerous globally endangered and endemic species of Hainan Island, as well as the major place where the Li ethnic group has lived for generations and established a harmonious relationship between humans and nature, adapted to the special local natural conditions.”

Wuzhishan Night Sky / TAN QI

Aiming to show that the island is not only an important area for international trade but also an important position for displaying national culture to the world, Hainan initially applied starting in March 2020. Via the specific upstream and downstream processes which take place before, during, and after an application to be inscribed on the World Heritage List, Hainan can learn from the international protection and management experience; explore how to establish a system of restoration and comprehensive management of mountains, rivers, forests, fields, lakes, and grasslands; realize the sustainable development of nature and culture; and provide a "Hainan model" for global biodiversity protection.

As Hainan steadily moves forward with the next step of its application, it will continue to strengthen the protection and restoration of its island-type tropical rainforest ecosystem and the cultural heritage of the Li ethnic group.