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Citing maqam as an example, Ma says both Iraq and Azerbaijan had submitted their applications in 2003, then China applied for the Uygur muqam to be listed in 2005. The same year, China and Mongolia also jointly applied to have urtiin duu, the traditional long folk song, included on the UNESCO's heritage list.

An ondol is a kind of traditional Korean underfloor heating system that uses wood as fuel. Today it usually uses heating pipes under the floor.

A Chinese kang bed-stove is built with bricks and provides heating and cooking devices at the same time.

Although the two are quite similar, the Korean ondol has its own characteristics that distinguishes it from the Chinese kang, Ma says.

"The fact that the ondol is seeking the status does not mean that kang is going to lose the opportunity," Ma says, responding to speculation that having ondol on the World Heritage list will deprive kang of the right to be on it, too.

China tops the list, with 38 intangible cultural heritages recognized by UNESCO.