Objective The aesthetic value of World Natural Heritage, as an important component of the outstanding universal value and one of the most special criteria, necessitates the execution of a study on the evolution and application process of its cognition and connotation.

Methods Based on the method of literature analysis, and based on the official documents, the paper analysed the revision the Criteria (vii) relating to aesthetic value and the subsequent increase in awareness. A subsequent analysis commenced with an examination of the inherent aesthetic distinction between China and the West. The examination was then proceeded to analyze the applicability of global criteria in China. Additionally, the value of natural beauty in a broad sense within the prospective of the Chinese landscape view was explored.

Results The advisory body has demonstrated a commitment to the construction of a normative and systematic assessment of natural landscapes. However, the descriptive approach and humanistic ideas underlying aesthetic values continue to generate controversy in value assessment. With the shift from Eurocentric to global discourse in the World Heritage, the connotation of aesthetic values of natural heritage has been enriched, and the relationship between nature and culture has become a primary topic. It was also a prominent feature of the aesthetic value of Chinese natural landscape.

Conclusions In order to better serve natural heritage conservation, it is necessary to establish a clear understanding of natural beauty, respect for intercultural diversity, and to construct a more universal nature and methodology behind the aesthetic value of heritage from the holistic and processual concept of natural landscape.