Protection stressed

Li Xiaoyun, a rural development expert at China Agricultural University, said that if all villages were identical, the countryside would no longer trigger nostalgia among the public. In addition, farmers would not be able to tap the economic value of Chinese culture in different regions.

"More and more places are putting increased emphasis on protecting and inheriting regional cultural characteristics while vitalizing themselves," he said.

Li Xiaoyun is among scholars using their expertise to curb rural poverty through tourism, part of the antipoverty drive that began a decade ago.

In 2014, he traveled with a team of researchers from Beijing to Hebian, which translates as "riverside village", in Yunnan province. This picturesque ethnic Yao community sits on the perimeter of a subtropical forest.

Initially intended to be a field study of the poverty-stricken community staged over just a few months, the team's involvement with the village lasted several years. By the time it ended in 2017, the team had helped transform Hebian into a tourist resort complete with bamboo hotels, 4G internet access and nightclubs.

"Using the poverty relief fund, the village was rebuilt based on its original architectural style, and the traditional lifestyles of the locals were preserved," Li Xiaoyun said.

The renovation work, which included adding toilets and air-conditioning, helped make the village a more welcoming place for farmers to stay.

Li Xiaoyun has surveyed a range of rural development projects, from coastal Zhejiang province to the inland municipality of Chongqing, and come to the conclusion that those that are successful never involve demolishing old villages to build new ones from scratch.

He said successful projects call for minute modifications to be made to the original layout of a community, in the hope of improving its socioeconomic functions so that "traditions can be organically connected to modernity".

Some developers decide to move farmers out of their home village and turn it into a purely commercial area. At first glance, the village seems to have been preserved, whereas it has been destroyed, Li Xiaoyun said.

"The primary function of villages is to provide homes for farmers," he added.

Villages also need industries to provide jobs, and the integrated development of farming, craftsmanship and the service sector represented by tourism is the ultimate route to vitalization, he said.

As he does not believe in relying on a single source of income, Li Xiaoyun set up an e-commerce center in Hebian to help sell local farm produce, including organic eggs and pomelos.

"Tourism is not the only solution for rural villages," he said.

Tasteful effect

He Wei, dean of the architecture department at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, said many traditional rural communities are pleasant sights.

Unlike urban residents living in high-rise apartments, those in rural areas design and build their own homes — often using materials sourced locally, such as rocks in mountainous regions, or timber in southern provinces. As a result, most rural homes are not as neatly positioned as tower blocks in cities. However, these two- or three-story traditional homes blend perfectly with their surroundings.

"These properties unexpectedly create a tasteful visual effect, and standing outside these homes is a relaxing and pleasant experience," He said.

A love of rural life helped inspire He to turn a crumbling dirt house in Pingtian village, a cloud-enveloped hamlet in Songyang, Zhejiang province, into a popular hostel for young people.

Named Yeyejia, which translates as "grandpa's", the property was inherited by He's client from his grandfather. The two-story structure — the second floor is used to store grain — is more than 100 years old, but time and lack of repairs had left their mark on the rough-looking exterior walls.

Like many villages in China, Pingtian had largely been deserted by its residents, with just a few seniors remaining. Situated halfway up a slope, the village is surrounded by mountains.

To avoid interfering with the farmhouse's "harmonious relations" with its surroundings, He and his colleagues decided to preserve the exterior while making significant changes to the interior. The aim was to provide cozy accommodations for visitors — mostly young people — and offer a temporary escape from urban life.

"The modern interior contrasts sharply with the property's mottled facade. This contrast spills over through the doors and windows, creating a strong psychological tension and sense of beauty. The design brings history into contemporary life," He said.

Traditional homes should not be preserved by "fixing" them to a certain time in history. Instead, preservation efforts should meet the demands of modern-day residents, He added.

Since 1978, China has gradually opened up its economy and launched a rapid urbanization drive that encompasses efficiency and most modern aspects of city life.

To a certain degree, this process has eroded rural culture and led to the demolition of traditional homes to make way for concrete and steel structures, He said. As a result, many villages that are thousands of kilometers apart basically look the same.

Urbanization has brought many rural people to cities, but society should be wary of rural areas being significantly changed by urbanization, He added.

（Original Title：Rural areas taste commercial success）