Heritage sites protected on ground and from space

Scenery at Shennongjia, a forest area in Hubei province, which was recently listed as a UNESCO World Natural Heritage.[Photo/Xinhua]

Shennongjia is the biggest primary forest in Central China, the only intact subtropical forest ecological system in the world's middle latitude regions and home to many rare wild animal species, including more than 1,300 golden monkeys.

Xie Zongqiang, a researcher at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said Shennongjia's outstanding biological diversity and significant indication of ecological processes are key reasons it became a World Natural Heritage site, so the protection of the living environment for animals remains a focus.