The following report summarizes an article in Beijing Today from 19 December 2003.  Despite rumors that the the Peking Man Caves at Zhoukoudian are in imminent danger of collapse, a spokesperson for the Beijing Office of UNESCO stated that the Caves will not be removed from the list of World Human Heritage sites. The Caves were included in this list in 1987.

About 50 kilometers southwest of Beijing, Zhoukouidan was first discovered in 1921. One of the richest archaeological finds of lower Paleolithic man to date, the caves at the Longgu Shan, or Dragon Bone Mountain at Zhoukoudian contain the Peking Man fossils that made the caves famous.

Although Beijing UNESCO claims the Caves will remain on UNESCO's World Human Heritage list, China has no plans to make it an endangered heritage site, thereby reducing any political and public pressures an endangered site may bring.

Natural and man-made factors, including: rain, ice, erosion, dramatic temperature changes, root systems and plant growth have contributed to Zhoukoudian's deterioration.  Extensive economic development around the Caves, most notably: coal mining and cement refining, have also harmed