The Anhui provincial government issued a statement recently requiring that protection of ancient Huizhou-style buildings should be one of the criteria for assessing related municipal government work related to speeding up urbanization.

The move marked the first time provincial-level authorities released documents on the preservation of Huizhou-style architecture, said the provincial department of housing and urban-rural development.

The majority of the buildings, which are well known all over the world for their aesthetic and cultural value, are located in Huangshan city and Jixi, Jingde and Jingxian counties in Xuancheng city.

The statement stipulates that governments in Huangshan and Xuancheng are to conduct an extensive survey into the location, number and state of those buildings. They should keep texts, pictures and videos related to them on file.

The level of protection each Huizhou-style building is to be put under will vary with its value, which is set to be assessed before the end of this year, according to the statement.

Detailed programs for preservation are scheduled to be mapped out by 2015, the department said, adding that government funds will be reserved for them.

The statement also dictates that those who are found to damage, smuggle, steal or unlawfully trade buildings under-protection will face penalties.