Villages in Peril: tourists to the rescue

Participants of the project learn Wuju opera in Suoyuan village, Jinhua.[Photo provided to China Daily]

"They found out that there are not only traditional architecture, but also old people, children, and the Chinese village lives," he says.

Julian Barnard, 58, is the consultant of the program. As a foreign teacher at Zhejiang Normal University in Jinhua and also a photographer, he has been fascinated by the traditional villages in the city since he came to China in 2010.

"Traditional village culture is one inseparable part of Chinese culture. It is no less important than any local opera or traditional handicraft. The traditional villages are representatives of China as whole."

To help promote the traditional villages in Jinhua, Barnard took photos of Suoyuan village and put the pictures on a website to attract foreign visitors.

"Westerners do not know the real China. We hear of China via the news in our own media. Before I came here, I did not know that China has such a rich culture. I want more people to know the beautiful China."

Barnard says his hometown in the United Kingdom is also a traditional village with a history of more than 1,000 years, and his house is 150 years old. He believes that protecting old houses and developing them are not contradictory.

"I can see that many villagers in China prefer to build new houses nowadays. They can develop some old houses into homestays to make money and then use the money to further protect other older houses."

Ideally the villagers and their offspring would live in the houses and carry out the protection work.

"In the UK, we have very strict laws against building over historic buildings. I think some of them can be shared here."

Like Barnard, the 42 participants in the project offered their own suggestions on developing the traditional villages after spending 21 days in the city.

Marina Vasileva from Bulgaria says that her first real village experience was fantastic.

"I am very interested in Chinese art and architecture, and I am excited that the traditional houses are well-preserved here in Jinhua."

Vasileva says she believes developing the villages should combine tradition and innovation.