What is a World Heritage Site?

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Malaysia.  A World Heritage site. What exactly is one? We saw several Heritage plaques in our travels thru Malaysia and Thailand, but I wasn’t sure what they meant or signified.

Well, I have learned there are 962 sites throughout the world in 157 countries, each designated by UNESCO (United Nations Scientific and Cultural Organization). They represent properties having outstanding universal value to humanity. A pretty tall order in my book.

This is one of 3 sites in Malaysia, Khoo Kongsi, a Chinese clan house built in 1906 which is located in the heart of the oldest section of George Town, Malaysia. The entire town is designated a World Heritage site as a result of its unique multicultural heritage and architecture not found anywhere else in East or Southeast Asia (or at least that’s what the Internet says).

What are some other sites? The Grand Canyon and Statue of Liberty in the U.S., the Great Barrier Reef in Australia, Stonehenge in England, the Taj Mahal in India and 5 sites in Thailand. Even Laos has 2. Oddly, Singapore has none. Now I just have to figure out how many I have visited.