Successful nominations to MOWCAP are entered on the Asia/Pacific Regional Register.
The Register is a listing of those “documentary heritage of influence” in the Asia/Pacific region approved for inclusion by MOWCAP.
The call for nominations and inscriptions on the Asia Pacific Register is made every two years unless unexpected circumstances make this impractical. Nominations will normally be called for in the even-number years (to alternate with the International Register).
The following documentary heritage is listed on the Asia Pacific Regional Register:
Australia
Funafuti: The Edgeworth David 1897 Expedition Documents (2024) - This joint nomination from Australia and Tuvalu documents an historically significant scientific expedition to Funafuti Atoll in 1897, led by Australian geologist Tannatt William Edgeworth David and aimed to prove Charles Darwin's theory of coral atoll formation.
F.E. Williams Collection of Photographs 1922-1943 (2012) - Glass plate photographs and negatives of Papuan society from 1922 to 1943, the period of ‘first contact’ with a culture hardly known to the West at the time.
Queensland South Sea Islander Indentured Labour Records 1863-1908 (2014) - The indentured labour records 1863-1908 are uniqie government records documenting the arrival, employment and deportation or exemption from deportation of South Sea Islanders in Queensland.
Landmark Constitutional Documents of the Commonwealth of Australia (2008) - A set of 17 documents from Australia that form the “Landmark Constitutional Documents of the Commonwealth of Australia.”Bangladesh
“Sultana’s Dream” by Rokeya S. Hossain (2024) - "Sultana’s Dream" is a sci-fi story about an utopian ladyland authored in English by Rokeya S. Hossain, a woman from a conservative Muslim family without any formal education and who dedicated her life to the education of girls. The story describes a fictional ladyland of the future with green urbanscapes where people travel by helicopter, use solar power and, most significantly, women are running the affairs of the state and society.Cambodia
The Reamker by Takrut (2014) - The recordings of the Reamker epic by Trakrut are the only known audio materials of an oral Khmer tradition. 
Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archive (2008) - The Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum Archive contains about 12,000 negatives and photos of the staff and 5,000 of the 15,000 prisoners held captive in the Tuol Sleng Prison and interrogation centre as well as prison documents.China and Special Administrative Regions
Printing Blocks Housed at the Derge Printing House (2024) - These texts comprehensively express people’s values, religious beliefs, culture, art, science and technology from different historical periods. Reflecting the excellent traditional culture inherited by Tibetan people from generation to generation, they have had an important impact on efforts by local community groups, inheritors of the legacy of the Printing House, and practitioners to maintain their cultural identity.
Huizhou Genealogy Archives (2024) - The Huizhou Genealogy Archives focus on the genealogy origin, lineage, living environment, clan regulations, family rules, biographies of famous people, property rights, folk literature and other aspects of Huizhou folk society, spanning over 2,700 years.
Archives Relating to Chengdu Traditional Teahouses (2024) - Archives relating to Chengdu Traditional Teahouses consist of documents related to almost all teahouses in Chengdu from 1903 to 1949, including manuscripts, business documents, charts, photographs, and printed materials, totalling 6,345 items. The content of these archives relates to various aspects of the daily operations of teahouses, industry administration, multifaceted functions, cultural exchanges, and the protection of women’s rights etc.
Archives of the Initial Dasheng Spinning Factory (1896-1907) (2022) - This archive signifies significant aspects of social transition at the turn of 20th century.
Shui Character Documents, Guizhou Province (2022) - Items in this collection are used in religious rituals, interpreting the language and songs of the Shui ethnic group and are the original religious classics used by Shui character masters (wise men).The Four Treatises of Tibetan Medicine (2018) - The Four Treatises contain the sowa rigpa theoretical system and practice of Tibetan medicine developed since the 8th century AD.
The Archives of Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics (Nanqiao Jigong)(2018) - The Archives of Nanyang Volunteer Drivers and Mechanics (Nanqiao Jigong) focus on more than 3,000 drivers and mechanics residing in Nanyang (an old Chinese name for Southeast Asia) who provided international material transportation during the Sino-Japanese War and World War II. 
Official Records of Macao During the Qing Dynasty (1693-1886) (2016) - Mainly records created and received by the Procuratura of the Leal Senado
(Office of the Procurator of the Loyal Senate of Macao) in the course of its official business
transaction with the Chinese Authorities from Guangdong from 1693 to 1886.Archives and Manuscripts of Macau Kong Tac Lam Temple (1645 – 1980) (2016) - The collection, comprises over 6,000 volumes of rare books in 2,000 titles, archives,
manuscripts, and Buddhist texts on palm leaves.
Archives of Confucius Family of the Ming and Qing Dynasties (2016) - The files cover all aspects of the social life, including politics, economy, culture, ideology and clan affairs, etc.
Archives of Suzhou Silk Samples (2016) - The Archives of the Suzhou Silk Samples have 302,814 silk sample archives in 28,650 volumes. These include samples, processing techniques and real objects gradually accumulated from the end of the 19th century to the end of 20th century.
The Double Stellar Hemisphere (2014) - The DOUBLE STELLAR HEMISPHERE (hereinafter referred to as the Map) was printed in the 7th year of Chong Zhen Emperor of the Ming dynasty (1634), xylographically printed in eight vertical sections of fine Chinese native paper, well mounted with blue palace silk for screen hanging.
Tibet Autonomous Region of China: Official Records of Tibet from the Yuan Dynasty China, 1304-1367 (2012) - The only records of their kind now extant, they are from the period of Mongol rule and are the oldest surviving written official records of China.
Qiaopi and Yinxin: Correspondence and Remittance Documents from Overseas (2012) - Some 170,000 items of personal correspondence tracing the fortunes of Chinese emigrants to South East Asia, Oceania and America in the 19th and 20th centuries.
Archives and materials of the Macao Diocese from the 1550s to 1800s (2010) - Records, correspondence, training materials and books documenting the development of Catholicism in the Far East, and influences on culture, economics and education in China and Europe.
The Yellow Emperor’s Inner Canon (2010) - Originating in the second century BC, the theoretical foundation for the formation and development of traditional Chinese medicine.Ben Cao Gang Mu (Compendium of Materia Medica) (2010) - A pharmacological text written by Li Shi-zen (1593).
Cook Islands
The Proclamation (E Tutatua Akakite) of 1891 (2014) - A fragile and rare, one-paged document written in Maori, the language spoken by most of the population of the Cook Islands at that time, called the Proclamation (E Tutatua Akakite), signed by the Earl of Onslow, on 4th April, 1891, on behalf of the Queen of Great Britain & Ireland, placing a protectorate over the Cook Islands. Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Mu Ye Do Bo Tong Ji, Comprehensive Illustrated Manual of Martial Arts (2016) - Mu Ye Do Bo Tong Ji was printed in April 1790 and is a comprehensive martial arts book that explains the Korean traditional martial arts which became the origin of Taekwon-do, the international marital arts of today.Fiji
Polynesian Immigrants Records 1876-1914 (2014) - The National Archives of Fiji's collection of records of the imported Pacific Islands Labourers who were indentured to work as plantation workers during the labour trade from 1876 - 1914. Constitutes important information for genealogical and historical information.
Documentary Heritage of the Indian Indentured Labourers (2010) - Records of colonially-induced labour migration from 1879 to the 1960s.India
The 15th Century Manuscript of the Pañcatantra Fables (2024) - The Pañcatantra is an ancient collection of fables in Sanskrit, estimated to be over 3,000 years old. The manuscript’s human, supernatural and animal characters, along with cultural references, provide evidence that the tales originated in South Asia by analyzing various recensions and translations of the Pañcatantra stories, which have proliferated globally since antiquity.
The Manuscript of the Sahṛdayāloka-Locana: Seminal Text of Indian Poetics (2024) - The Sahṛdayāloka of Ānandavardhana is an epoch-making text, which focuses on dhvani (evoked meaning) as the inner secret of poetry for the first time in the history of Indian Poetics. This new feature led to a re-examination and re-definition of the various components of poetry. This dhvani theory, although highly influential, had been criticized by many thinkers of that time, but Abhinavagupta defended dhvani and established it on a wider canvas. The manuscript of the Sahṛdayāloka with Locana is an important document having had a profound influence on subsequent thinkers of India and beyond.
The Illustrated Manuscripts of Rāmacaritamānasa of Tulasīdāsa (2024) - The Rāmacaritamānasa, composed by the renowned poet-saint Goswami Tulsīdāsa, is a poetic retelling of the ancient Sanskrit epic Ramayana and is been widely regarded as a seminal work of spirituality and moral idealism in India and the surrounding region. Indonesia
The Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol Manuscript (2024) - The Tambo Tuanku Imam Bonjol (TTIB) is a single manuscript (codex unicus), written by the son of Tuanku Imam Bonjol (1772-1864), Naali Sutan Caniago, while he accompanied Tuanku Imam Bonjol’s exile in Manado. The main message of the TTIB manuscript is the awareness of Tuanku Imam Bonjol that egalitarianism and peace must be put forward rather than war.
Indonesian Sugar Research Institute’s Archives 1887-1986: The Role of ISRI’s Research Activities to the World Sugar Industry (2024) - The Indonesian Sugar Research Institute (ISRI/P3GI) is a research institute founded in Pasuruan City by sugar industrialists in 1887. ISRI has been the spearhead in the development of the sugar industry, especially in Asia-Pacific, playing a big role in the development of sugar dynamics in the world, one of which is the discovery of the strain POJ 2878 which has been grown worldwide.
Indarung I, The First Cement Plant in Southeast Asia (1910-1972) (2024) - Indarung I Plant, was the first cement factory to be established in Southeast Asia., founded by a Dutch private company in 1910 in Indarung, Padang, Indonesia.
Dr Soeharso Rehabilitation Centre (2022) - The Rehabilitation Center of Prof. R. Soeharso in Surakarta became Asia’s first and largest rehabilitation center implementing the integrated concept of rehabilitation services.
Nāgarakrĕtāgama or Description of the Country (1365 AD) (2008) - The “Nagara Kertagama” is a 14th century Javanese text written on palm-leaves that gave an account of government and society in the Majapahit kingdom that covered most of the geographical area covering present-day Indonesia. The memory of this kingdom inspired the founders of Indonesia in their struggle against colonial rule.Iran
Arafāt al-Āshiqīn va Arasāt al-Arifīn (2016) - This is one of the most prominent and most comprehensive biographies in Farsi written by Taqi al-Din Muhammad Owḥadī Husseini Daqāqī Balīyānī (1565-1630 AD.). The book contains the biographies of about 3500 poets who are from Afghanistan, Iran and the Indian subcontinent from the past to the time of the author.
Vendidad (2014) - Avesta is the overall name given to Iranians most ancient collection of writings and composition. It is an Iranian encyclopedia and the holy scripture for followers of Zarathustra.
The Soul of the Reef (2014) - As one of the most important scientific documentaries, The Soul of the Reef, with its good rhythm and precise audio/video synchronization, has a poetic look at the reefs.
Collection of Documents and Images of Karbala (2014) - The “collection of documents and images of Karbala”, is a compilation of authentic and diverse documents, which includes official reports and documents obtained from the Qajar Dynasty (Iran), the Ottoman Empire (Turkey) and the eras of monarchical and republic regimes in Iraq.
Al-Masaalik Wa Al-Mamaalik (2014) - The Al-Masaalik Wa Al-Mamaalik, Istakhri’s invaluable work, is one of the most important geographical books from the 4th century AH/10 CE, which presents an accurate description of the then socio-economic, cultural and political conditions of the Islamic lands –from India to Africa- supplemented by maps.
Japan
Suiheisha and Hyeongpyengsa (The Records of Cross-Border Solidarity Between Minorities) (2016) - The Suiheisha was created in 1922 in Japan and the Hyeongpyengsa in 1923 in Korea by the minorities in the respective countries.
Lao PDR
Neo Lao Hak Xath Film Collection (2014) - The Neo Lao Hak Xath Film Collection is a significant collection of 450 newsreel and documentary films, which were shot in Laos during the Indochina War.Malaysia
The Royal Correspondence of Baginda Omar (Surat Persendirian Baginda Omar) (2024) - The core of this collection contains the surviving correspondence of Terengganu’s ruler, known as Baginda Omar. This collection offers a vivid glimpse into this significant chapter of Terengganu’s and Malaysia’s history while providing an illuminating look at the political intrigues of the various Malay courts during the advent of Western influence and dominance in the region.
Al-Tarikh Salasilah Negeri Kedah: Genealogical History of Kedah State (2024) - This manuscript concerns the origin of the kings and the formation of the state of Kedah, Malaysia, providing valuable insight into the evolution of historiographical works by palace writers of the Kedah Malay Sultanate in the early 20th century.
Kitab Ilmu Bedil – Book of Malay Traditional Weaponry (2016) - This is a Malay manuscript which is regarded as a traditional literary genre written in the mid-19th century containing the precious traditional knowledge on weaponry.Maldives
Loamaafaanu (2014) - Loamaafaanu(s), are the official records of land grants, written on copperplates, given to mosques built by Sultans after the Maldives converted to Islam.
Mongolia
Mongolia’s First Postage Stamps ‘Eldev Ochir’ (2024) - Mongolia issued its very first postage stamps, known as “Eldev-Ochir,” in 1924, prior to Mongolia’s declaration as an independent state and the introduction of its national currency. Notably, the stamps do not bear the name “Mongolia” but only the monetary denomination of each. They serve as evidence of Mongolia’s contribution to the development of postal services in the Asia-Pacific region.
Family Chart of Hereditary Lords of the Khalkha Mongols, the House of Genghis Khan (2024) - “The Family Chart of Hereditary Lords of the Khalkha Mongols, the House of Genghis Khan” is a genealogy chart of 980 Genghisids that runs for thirty generations covering almost 700 years of Mongolian history and was compiled around 1832-1862.
Merged Garahiin Oron: Tibetan – Mongolian Dictionary of Terms and Definitions (2016) - The Space for Attaining Wisdom is the only extant copy of well preserved wooden print blocks to illustrate the best traditions of publishing by Mongolians.Sutra of Great Diety Tara (2014) - This work is a unique piece of art where texts of Green and White Tara were written in 79 lines in less than 5 cm of space using very thin pen point.
Lu. “Altan Tobchi” (2010) - Written in 1651, covers the history of Mongolia and neighbouring countries from the 13th to 17th centuries, including the reach of the Mongol empire across Asia and Europe.
Myanmar
The Emerald Jungle (Mya Ga Naing) (2018) - Mya Ga Naing is a silent film produced by A1 Film Production in 1934 in Myanmar. It is the oldest Myanmar film in existence.
The Anandacandra Stone Inscription (2018) - The stone inscription is important evidence of the early history of Rakhine, especially from the late BCE to the eighth century CE.King Bayinnaung Bell Inscription (2016) - Donated by King Bayintnaung at Shwezegon Pagoda in Bagan in 1557 AD. It is written in three languages - Pali on the top part and Myanmar and Mon on each face of the half body
New Zealand
Western Pacific Archives (2014) - The Western Pacific Archives comprises the records of the Western Pacific High Commission, from 1875 until 1978, and the territorial records of the British Agent and Consul, Tonga, and the New Hebrides British Service.
The Tokyo War Crimes Trials 1946-1948 (2010) - Documents of the International Military Tribunal Far East, including the history of Japanese ambitions in the Pacific prior to World War II.Papua New Guinea
F.E. Williams Collection of Photographs 1922-1943 (2012) - Glass plate photographs and negatives of Papuan society from 1922 to 1943, the period of ‘first contact’ with a culture hardly known to the West at the time.Philippines
Hinilawod Epic Chant Recordings (2024) - The Hinilawod Recordings collection contains the Hinilawod, or the epics of Panay, recorded in audio format by anthropologist Dr Felipe Landa Jocano and Panay Bukidnon epic chanters “Ulang Udig” from Lambunao, Iloilo and Narcisa “Hugan-an” Lingaya of Tapaz, Capiz, from 1956 to 1957. It preserves 15 epics (two were published) that were narrated/chanted in archaic Karay-a, one of the languages of Panay.
Doctrina Christiana en Lengua Española y Tagala (Christian Doctrine in Spanish and Tagalog), Manila, 1593 (2024) - The Doctrina Christiana is the earliest printed book in Tagalog and is the among the first books printed and published in the Philippines, with the unique surviving housed in the US Library of Congress. It bears witness not only to the endeavours of the Spanish colonizers to convert the local people to Christianity, but also to the existence of written language in Tagalog (the language of Manila) in the local script in 1593 C.E.Culion Leprosy Archives (2018) - The Archives preserve and protect rare volumes of journals, text books and other reference materials on leprosy.
The Presidential papers of Manuel Luis Quezon (2010) - Principal documentary source of Philippine history for the American colonial period 1898-1946.
Republic of Korea
Samguk-yusa (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) (2022) - The Samguk-yusa form a treasure trove of information on ancient mythology, history, culture, religion, life, literature and ideology of Korea.
Taean Oil Spill (2022) - A most unusual mass campaign by authorities together with almost 1.5 million volunteers to address a civil disaster.
Naebang-gasa (Songs of the Inner Chambers) (2022) - A collection of 347 songs and poems created, recited, and recorded by Korean women from 1794 to the 1960s.Name Boards and Verse Plaques on Royal Architecture of the Joseon Dynasty (2018) - In the royal architecture of the Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910), names carried extraordinary significance. They underlined the rulers' political philosopy and ideology, and signified status.
Maninso: Ten Thousand People’s Petitions (2018) - These two documents are the artifacts of collective actions undertaken by independent intellectuals of the Joseon period (1392-1910), to influence reforms in important state affairs toward ethical politics prescribed by Confucian ideology.
Pyeon-aek : Hanging Wooden Plaques in Korea (2016) - These comprise the hand-carved woodblocks with meaningful letters for hanging at the center of a traditional building. Letters on the hanging wooden plaques implicitly reflect the moral values of building owners.
Samoa
Archives of German-Samoa Colonial Administration (2014) - The German Colonization period in Samoa from 1900 – 1914 is one of the most significant eras in the history of Samoa. The documents provide a record of a unique example of Germany’s colonial expansion in the Pacific, while also assuming a wider international significance.
Singapore
Asian Children’s Literature (2022) - The collection reflects Asian children, backgrounds, and communities in the four official languages of Singapore – English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
Asian Film Archive Collection Cathay-Keris Malay Classics (2014) - The 91 survivng titles represent a portion of Singapore's golden age of filmmaking (l950s and 1960s). The films tell the stories indigenous to the Malay peoples of Singapore and Malaysia, display disappearing traditions and music, while reflecting the social mores and attitudes of the time.Solomon Islands
World War Two Records – British Solomon Islands Protectorate (BSIP) (2018) - The administrative records created during world war two and records of the aftermath of the war.
Thailand
The Epigraphic Archives of Wat Pho (2008) - The Epigraphic Archives of Wat Pho in Bangkok is a unique collection of 1,360 Thai language inscriptions on marble plates made in the 1830’s on both religious and secular subjects, representing a wide range of Thai knowledge of Asian and local roots of the time.
Tuvalu
Funafuti: The Edgeworth David 1897 Expedition Documents (2024) - This joint nomination from Australia and Tuvalu documents an historically significant scientific expedition to Funafuti Atoll in 1897, led by Australian geologist Tannatt William Edgeworth David and aimed to prove Charles Darwin's theory of coral atoll formation.
Agreements with Native Governments 1893-1916 (2018) - The Agreements with Native Governments are the only original documents that are evidence of when each of the Ellis Islands submitted to the British Empire.Uzbekistan
“Turkestan Album” 1871-1872 (2024) - The “Turkestan Album”, containing rare photographs and colour pictures, which are both scientifically and historically valuable, is kept in the rare book fonds of the National Library of Uzbekistan. The “Turkestan Album” consists of historical, archaeological, ethnographic and handicraft sections, studied and popularized by scientists. It is the most complete picture of the territory of the country was created in the “Turkestan Album.”
Images of Khorezm Oasis by Khudaibergan Devanov (1879-1937) (2024) - Khudaibergen Devanov (1879-1937) was a pioneering Uzbek photographer, cinematographer, filmmaker and cameraman. This documentary heritage in the form of a collection of photographic glass negatives and photographs testifies to historical and cultural originality and local uniqueness of Khorezm (the lower reaches of Amu Darya, Khorezm Oasis) and historical and cultural transformations at the turn of the 19th and the first three decades of the 20th centuries.
Turkestan Collection (2016) - The “Turkestan Collection” is a collection of a variety of printed materials on diverse topics related to the history, culture, ethnography, geography, economics, social life and traditions of Turkestan and
Central Asian countries from the early 60s of the XIX century to 1939.Vietnam
Bas-reliefs on the Nine Bronze Urns in Huế Imperial Palace (2024) - The bas-reliefs on the nine bronze urns in Huế Imperial Palace, including 162 motifs and Han characters embossed on the urns, bear the values regarding history, culture, education, geography, feng-shui, medicine and pharmacy, calligraphy. Notably, it is deeply influenced by a once widespread East Asian culture relating to the significance of the number “9” 九 and the casting of nine urns, symbolizing the unification and the long-lasting existence of a dynasty, of which these are the only remaining examples.
Ma Nhai (Inscriptions) on the Marble Mountains, Danang City (2022) - This collection of 78 documents in Chinese and Nom characters (Sino-Nom) was carved on cliffs and caves.
Sino-Nom Documents in Truong Luu Village, Ha Tinh Province (1689-1943) (2022) - A remarkable snapshot of a small village developing into a cultural center in Vietnam and its contribution to society.The Envoy Ship Journeys to China (2018) - An atlas of the journey of the Vietnam envoys in the 18th century.
Royal Literature on Hue Royal Architecture (1802-1945) (2016) - The art values of verse, character and picture panels are expressed in the form of one verse panel with one picture panel or one character panel with one picture panel creating a unique style of Hue royal architectural decoration.
Phuc Giang School Woodblocks (18th-20th Centuries) (2016) - The woodblocks created by the Nguyen Huy family during their cultural activities between the 18th–20th centuries were used for teaching and learning at Phuc Giang School, Truong Luu village.Imperial Records of Nguyen Dynasty (1802 – 1945) (2014) - Nguyen dynasty’s Imperial records are administrative records of the Nguyen dynasty, the last feudal dynasty in Vietnam which lasted from 1802 to 1945.
Stone Stele Records of Royal Examinations of the Le and Mac Dynasties 1442-1779 (2010) - Records the names and related information of doctoral laureates who passed the 82 royal examinations over this period and formed the core of Vietnam’s civil service.Woodblocks at Vinh Nghiem Pagoda, Bac Giang Province (2012) - Over 3,000 woodblocks, engraved from 1871 to 1932, containing Buddhist sutras and other documents of the Truc Lam Zen sect in the Nôm script. This distinctly Vietnamese Buddhist tradition has spread to many countries.