Haeinsa Temple Janggyeong Panjeon, the Depositories for the Tripitaka Koreana Woodblocks

This temple was built to store over 80,000 wooden sheets of Buddhist scriptures 

Tripitaka Koreana

This postcard was sent by Jennifer

The Temple of Haeinsa, on Mount Gaya, is home to the Tripitaka Koreana , the most complete collection of Buddhist texts, engraved on 80,000 woodblocks between 1237 and 1248. The buildings of Janggyeong Panjeon, which date from the 15th century, were constructed to house the woodblocks, which are also revered as exceptional works of art. As the oldest depository of the Tripitaka , they reveal an astonishing mastery of the invention and implementation of the conservation techniques used to preserve these woodblocks. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/737

Yakushima

Yakushima has a humid subtropical climate and is famous for its lush vegetation

Yakushima

This postcard was sent by Momoko

Yakushima is a primeval temperate rainforest extending from the centre of the almost round-shaped, mountainous Yakushima Island.

The montane temperate rainforest of Yakushima is globally distinct, due to its peculiar ecosystem with abundant rheophytes and epiphytes that have adapted to the high rainfall, in excess of 8,000 mm annually, and resulting humid environment. Home to some 1,900 species and subspecies of flora, 16 mammal species and 150 bird species, it exhibits a rich biodiversity including the landscape of the Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica), a primeval forest composed of trees called “Yakusugi”, which are over 1,000 years in age. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/662

Shiretoko

Shiretoko is one of the richest integrated ecosystems in the world

Shiretoko Cape

This postcard was sent by Chami

Shiretoko Peninsula is located in the north-east of Hokkaido, the northernmost island of Japan. The site includes the land from the central part of the peninsula to its tip (Shiretoko Cape) and the surrounding marine area. It provides an outstanding example of the interaction of marine and terrestrial ecosystems as well as extraordinary ecosystem productivity, largely influenced by the formation of seasonal sea ice at the lowest latitude in the northern hemisphere. It has particular importance for a number of marine and terrestrial species, some of them endangered and endemic, such as Blackiston’s fish owl and the Viola kitamiana plant. The site is globally important for threatened seabirds and migratory birds, a number of salmonid species, and for marine mammals including Steller’s sea lion and some cetacean species. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1193

Ogasawara Islands

This site is an archipelago of over 30 subtropical and tropical islands

Nakayama Pass, Chichi Jima, Ogassawara Islands

This postcard was sent by Noriko

The Ogasawara Islands are located in the North-Western Pacific Ocean roughly 1,000 km south of the main Japanese Archipelago. The serial property is comprised of five components within an extension of about 400 km from north to south and includes more than 30 islands, clustered within three island groups of the Ogasawara Archipelago: Mukojima, Chichijima and Hahajima, plus an additional three individual islands: Kita-iwoto and Minami-iwoto of the Kazan group and the isolated Nishinoshima Island.

There are more than 440 species of native vascular plants with exceptionally concentrated rates of endemism as high as 70% in woody plants. The islands are the habitat for more than 100 recorded native land snail species, over 90% of which are endemic to the islands. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1362/

Hoi An Ancient Town

Hoi An is a well-preserved city that reflects a fusion of indigenous and foreign cultures 

The Fu-Kien Pagoda, Hoi An

This postcard was sent from Australia by Helen

Hoi An Ancient town is located in Viet Nam’s central Quang Nam Province, on the north bank near the mouth of the Thu Bon River.

The town comprises a well-preserved complex of 1,107 timber frame buildings, with brick or wooden walls, which include architectural monuments, commercial and domestic vernacular structures, notably an open market and a ferry quay, and religious buildings such as pagodas and family cult houses. The houses are tiled and the wooden components are carved with traditional motifs.  They are arranged side-by-side in tight, unbroken rows along narrow pedestrian streets. There is also the fine wooden Japanese bridge, with a pagoda on it, dating from the 18th century.  - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/948

My Son Sanctuary

My Son encompasses over 70 temples but a lot of them were destroyed during the Vietnam War

My Son Sanctuary - Towers D2-C2

This postcard was sent from Australia by Helen

Mỹ Sơn is a cluster of abandoned and partially ruined Hindu temples constructed between the 4th and the 14th century AD by the kings of Champa (Chiêm Thành in Vietnamese). The temples are dedicated to the worship of the god Shiva, known under various local names, the most important of which is Bhadreshvara. - in: wikipedia

Ha Long Bay

Ha Long Bay is probably the most popular touristic destination of Vietnam. 

Ha Long Bay

This postcard was sent from China by Victor-Lu

Ha Long Bay, in the Gulf of Tonkin, includes some 1,600 islands and islets, forming a spectacular seascape of limestone pillars. Because of their precipitous nature, most of the islands are uninhabited and unaffected by a human presence. The site's outstanding scenic beauty is complemented by its great biological interest. - in: http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/672