On the UNESCO World Heritage list are now the city of Nice and a Romanian mine shaft

Fuzhou - Today, UNESCO added cultural and natural sites from France, Japan, Romania, and Thailand to its World Heritage List. UNESCO recognized the southern French city of Nice as a "winter resort of the Riviera," reported AFP. The intergovernmental committee, meeting in the Chinese city of Fuzhou, valued the architectural, landscape, and urban heritage of the city that has been developing since the 18th century.

France now has a total of 47 entries on the prestigious list. The spa town of Vichy and the Cordouan lighthouse at the mouth of the Gironde River into the Atlantic Ocean were most recently added on Saturday.

The committee also added a mining tunnel from the Roman era located in the municipality of Roșia Montană in northwestern Romania. The inclusion on the World Heritage List is likely to complicate the dispute surrounding a large open-pit gold mine planned by the Canadian company Gabriel Resources at the site.

The Romanian government initially supported the project, but after extensive protests, it backed down, and the company is currently seeking compensation of $4.4 billion (approximately 95 billion CZK).

Also added to the list today is the vast Thai forest area of Keng Krachan despite warnings from experts at the United Nations (UN), who pointed to human rights violations of ethnic minorities living in the area. The forest area covers 480,000 hectares and is located in western Thailand near the border with Myanmar. It is famous for its biodiversity, encompassing three national parks and one nature reserve.

UNESCO has also added a group of Japanese sites from the prehistoric Jomon period (8000 to 300 years BC) in the northern part of the country. A total of 17 sites are located on the island of Hokkaido and in the prefectures of Aomori, Akita, and Iwate. According to the committee, they provide a rare insight into the lives of people before the development of agriculture.