[1] These sites are located in the mountains of Southwest China and exemplify the unique tusi governance system that survived the 13th through the 20th centuries.

[2] The tusi were hereditary tribal leaders that were appointed as officials by the imperial government in China during the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties.

It was a political system adopted by Chinese emperors to govern ethnic minority regions in south-central and southwest China, and the granted many ethnic groups in China some degree of political autonomy.

[3][4] The world heritage site is composed of three separate sites that combine to represent the tusi system: On July 3, 2015, the three Tusi sites were added to the World Cultural Heritage List during the 39th session of the World Heritage Committee in Bonn, Germany.

The committee said the Tusi system aimed at unifying national administration while simultaneously allowing ethnic minorities to retain their customs and way of life.