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Five world heritage sites in China were warned about protection measures at the 28th session of the World Heritage Committee in Suzhou on Monday.

The session questioned a total of 121 sites, five of them in China.

Discussions and questions were equivalent to an oral warning. If no measures were taken to protect the sites, they might be added to the endangered list or removed from the World Heritage List.

The five sites were not added to the endangered list.

They are the Imperial Palace in Beijing, Suzhou gardens in east China's Jiangsu Province, the Potala Palace in Lhasa, the ancient building complex in the Wudang Mountain in Hubei Province and the Three Parallel Rivers of Yunnan Protected Areas.

Suzhou was questioned because the location of the new Suzhou Museum could influence the Zhuozheng Garden, a world heritage site. The ancient building complex in the Wudang Mountain was questioned because a fire destroyed one of the ancient buildings last year. Both do not need to send reports next year, the World Heritage Committee ruled.

The committee concluded that the location of the new Suzhou Museum would not harm the garden. It believed the fire in Wudang was an accident that could happen at any site. The local government had taken steps to rectify the situation so a report would not have to be submitted next year, the committee ruled.

However, the other three sites will have to provide more detailed reports at the next session.
Discussions on the Imperial Palace were related to changes in its surroundings, which some say had affected the heritage.

The three Parallel Rivers site was of concern because of plans to build 13 hydro-power stations.
One of the stations is said to be destined for a protected area, while the rest are not far from the site.