🏛️ Tusi Sites
Hereditary governance sites from the 13th to 20th centuries in southwestern China
📌 Fast Facts
- Location: Hunan, Hubei, and Guizhou provinces, southwestern China
- Three sites: Laosicheng, Tangya, and Hailongtun Fortress
- Governance period: 13th to early 20th century
- UNESCO inscription: 2015
The Tusi Sites are a collection of three archaeological complexes in southwestern China that preserve evidence of a hereditary governance system spanning seven centuries. Laosicheng in Hunan Province, Tangya in Hubei Province, and Hailongtun Fortress in Guizhou Province were inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2015. The sites demonstrate how the central Chinese imperial government appointed hereditary local leaders—called Tusi—to administer ethnic minority regions while maintaining ...