A Tentative List is an inventory of those properties which each State Party intends to consider for nomination. States Parties are encouraged to submit their Tentative Lists, properties which they consider to be cultural and/or natural heritage of outstanding universal value and therefore suitable for inscription on the World Heritage List.

In 2012, the National Cultural Heritage Administration updated the China World Cultural Heritage Tentative Lists. There are currently 43 cultural heritage sites on the Tentative Lists. The content of this section is derived from the application materials for the Tentative Lists submitted by the managers of heritage sites.