Renovation and rebirth

Lack of legal cover

Li Huadong, an associate professor at the School of Architecture and Urban Planning at Beijing University of Technology, said traditional village protection lacks legal support.

"Traditional villages are not antiques or relics. That means the Cultural Relics Protection Law is unsuitable, but no other laws have a similar legal function. Although some local governments have launched regulations pertaining to the issue, their limitations mean it's hard to control the fundamental destiny of the traditional villages," he said.

That lack of legal support means that a large number of high-value traditional villages will not receive protection in time to save them. A law specifically enacted to help preserve traditional villages is urgently needed, he added.

"The protection of traditional villages is a profound cultural problem that needs the help of experts or professionals in the field. More talent should be cultivated, otherwise protection will simply become a different type of destruction," said Cao Baoming.

"We often complain that traditional villages lack effective protection. And I think one of the major reasons is that the public doesn't understand the value of this architecture. Many people think buildings exist simply for living, working and producing, and therefore, new ones must be better. But if you have the opportunity to visit European countries and the United States, you will be amazed by their well-preserved ancient architecture and will feel that the cities have a very definite sense of history," said Lou.

He often quotes his teacher Liang Sicheng (1901-72) - the author of the first modern domestic history of Chinese architecture and recognized as the "Father of Modern Chinese Architecture" - who once said if we want to protect China's ancient architecture effectively and further develop the ancient architectural culture, the first thing to do is to raise public awareness; that's one piece of advice Lou is determined to act upon.