BRASILIA (AP).- UNESCO added five cultural sites to its World Heritage List on Sunday, including the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long-Hanoi in Vietnam.

The citadel, built in the 11th century by the Viet Dynasty, became the 900th site listed as a World Heritage Property. With the other four sites added, the total increased to 904.

The new sites are the historic monuments of Dengfeng in China, the archaeological site Sarazm in Tajikistan, the Episcopal city of Albi in France and a 17th-century canal ring in Amsterdam.

On Saturday, UNESCO added nine sites to the list, including Bikini Atoll in the Marshall Islands, home to nuclear bomb testing in the 1940s and 1950s. UNESCO said the tests had "major consequences" on the geology and environment of the atoll and symbolized "the dawn of nuclear age.

Also added to the list Saturday were the Turaif District in Saudi Arabia; Australia's penal colony sites; the Jantar Mantar astronomical observation site in India; a shrine in Ardabil, Iran; the Tabriz historic bazaar complex, also in Iran; and the historic villages of Hahoe and Yangdong in South Korea.

The United Nations also added Florida's Everglades National Park and rain forests in Madagascar to its list of World Heritage sites in danger.

The Everglades, home to 20 endangered species, was previously on the list from 1993 to 2007 because large amounts of water were being diverted to cities.

The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization says in a statement the park was added again for the same reason.

UNESCO says in the Atsinanana rain forests of Madagascar, illegal logging and poaching are a threat to rare lemurs.

Being on the danger list allows the agency to allocate immediate assistance from the World Heritage Fund.

UNESCO added the two sites during a meeting Friday in Brasilia, Brazil.

The U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization's meeting to consider cultural sites for listing ends Tuesday.


Copyright 2010 The Associated Press.