Busan, ROK - July 25, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
1. Various of 48th session of World Heritage Committee in progress, official announcing Jingdezhen's inscription on World Heritage List, Chinese delegation celebrating

Busan, ROK - July 25, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Alessandro Balsamo, head, Nominations Unit, UNESCO World Heritage Centre (starting with shot 1/ending with shots 3-6):
"This inscription is really important, not just for China, but more from a global perspective, as industrial heritage has often focused on mining, metallurgy, transportation, and Jingdezhen highlights another important dimension, the heritage of artisanal production. And this is an opening for the World Heritage List, something new. So where technological knowledge, skill, craftsmanship and cultural exchange evolved together over many centuries represents something that will broaden the scope of the list."

Busan, ROK - July 25, 2026 (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
3. Various of banner celebrating Jingdezhen's inscription on World Heritage List
4. Signs of 48th session of World Heritage Committee

Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
5. Various of craftspeople working, drawing, firing porcelains
6. Various of porcelains on display
7. Aerial shots of downtown area of Jingdezhen, ancient buildings

Busan, ROK - July 25, 2026 (CGTN - No access Chinese mainland)
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Alessandro Balsamo, head, Nominations Unit, UNESCO World Heritage Centre:
"With this inscription, China now ranks with Italy as the two state parties with [the most] sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. This is, of course, I think, an honor for the state parties, but it's also a big responsibility, because these state parties with many properties inscribed on the World Heritage List have to show really how the managing and conservation of sites is important. So with all the experience that China has developed over the years, its contribution to the overall protection of heritage all around the globe is extremely important."

Jingdezhen City, Jiangxi Province, east China - Recent (CCTV - No access Chinese mainland)
9. Various of visitors
10. Aerial shot of old kiln site

The inscription of China's Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List marks a milestone not just for one nation, but for international understanding of what heritage means and what protection efforts are, a senior UNESCO official said Saturday.

Jingdezhen, China's "porcelain capital" where kiln fires have blazed for over 2,000 years, has once again drawn the world's gaze as its time-honored kiln sites won World Heritage status earlier in the day during the 48th session of the World Heritage Committee held in Busan, the Republic of Korea.

It marks the first time that China has nominated an industrial heritage site for World Heritage status, and it is also the first World Heritage site themed around porcelain.

During an interview with CGTN after the announcement, Alessandro Balsamo, head of the Nominations Unit at the UNESCO World Heritage Centre, described the decision as a breakthrough for the international heritage community.

"This inscription is really important, not just for China, but more from a global perspective, as industrial heritage has often focused on mining, metallurgy, transportation, and Jingdezhen highlights another important dimension, the heritage of artisanal production. And this is an opening for the World Heritage List, something new. So where technological knowledge, skill, craftsmanship and cultural exchange evolved together over many centuries represents something that will broaden the scope of the list," he said.

Situated in east China's Jiangxi Province, the Jingdezhen Handicraft Porcelain Industry Sites are a group of heritage sites representing the handicraft porcelain industry system that developed in Jingdezhen from the 10th to the 19th century.

China now joins Italy as the world's most inscribed nation on the UNESCO World Heritage List, with 61 sites.

"With this inscription, China now ranks with Italy as the two state parties with [the most] sites inscribed on the World Heritage List. This is, of course, I think, an honor for the state parties, but it's also a big responsibility, because these state parties with many properties inscribed on the World Heritage List have to show really how the managing and conservation of sites is important. So with all the experience that China has developed over the years, its contribution to the overall protection of heritage all around the globe is extremely important," said Balsamo.