The Guangzhou government has drafted protection plans for three of six historic sites in the Guangdong provincial capital that will apply for World Cultural Heritage status as part of the legacy of the ancient Maritime Silk Road.

The metropolis in southern China is one of nine cities whose historic sites concerning the ancient Maritime Silk Road were included in the country's World Cultural Heritage tentative list in 2012.

Yi Xibing, deputy director of the archeology department of the city's research institute of cultural relics and archeology, told China Daily on Friday that the city is facing two major challenges in applying for World Cultural Heritage status for the six sites.

"Firstly, the government needs to do more to inform the public of the application's importance and of the World Cultural Heritage's selection criteria," Yi said.

"For example, recently the public and some experts have been concerned over why the area where the Thirteen-Trades Monopoly of the Qing Dynasty was not on the city's tentative list of World Cultural Heritage sites.

"We didn't include it because it doesn't meet the criterion that there must be historical remains above ground. But few people know these criteria well."

The second challenge is how to build an ambience that befits the ancient sites in a modern metropolis, Yi said.

"Besides the core architecture, a World Cultural Heritage site is also demanding on its nearby surroundings," he said.

"However, the environment has changed a lot as the city develops. For example, the Light Pagoda at Huaisheng Mosque is now surrounded by modern dwellings."

The six Maritime Silk Road historic sites in Guangzhou applying for World Cultural Heritage status are: Nanyue Kingdom Palace, the Mausoleum of the Nanyue King, Guangxiao Temple, the Light Pagoda at Huaisheng Mosque, the Muslim sage's tomb near Jiefang North Road and the Temple of the South Sea God and the wharf.

The Guangzhou government set up a working group in March to handle the application of the city's six historic sites for World Cultural Heritage status.

The executive office is under the city's administration of culture, radio, television, film, press and publication.

The office comprises of six teams each taking on a different job: communication and supervision, collecting text data, protection plan drafting, environmental management, law making and public education.