A Myanmar site on UNESCO's World Heritage list for the first time

The Pyu city states have joined the prestigious UNESCO list. They now feature among the 1,000 places on Earth that are on the World Heritage list.

The three cities, Halin, Beikthano and Sri Ksetra, are located in the dry Irrawaddy River zone, the country's main river. They are the remnants of the Pyu kingdoms which thrived for over a thousand years, between 200 BC and 900 AD.

Surrounding city walls, moats, fortress-palaces, funerary sites and ancient industrial production sites can be discovered there. Travelers can also admire monumental brick Buddhist stupas (temples) and walls still partially standing.

The World Heritage Committee's 38th session started on June 15 and will go on until June 25, in Doha, Qatar. On Sunday June 22, the list reached 1,000 sites with the inscription of Botswana's Okavango Delta.