Due to the rapid pace of development and urbanization, hollowing villages have resulted causing vacancy and idleness. Thus, on September 24, the International Symposium on Chinese Traditional Village’s Hollowing Problem and the Countermeasures was held atFeng Jicai Research Institute of Art and Literature, Tianjin University.

The gathering targeted the hollowing problems of traditional villages listed in the Chinese Traditional Villages. The compilation was made by the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and other departments. More than 6800 traditional villages have been listed since 2012.

With their cultural consciousness, 100 experts and scholars from home and abroad, along with grass root workers, volunteers and representatives from traditional villages attended with the purpose of tackling the challenge. They sought practical, effective and feasible solutions, in an effort to protect, inherit and develop the villages.

Scholars from Japan, South Korea, France, Italy, Russia and other countries exchanged thoughts on the hollowing problems in their countries, as well as countermeasures and experiences. Academics dedicated to the protection and research of traditional villages nationwide also swapped practical issues found in field investigations in different regions.

During the symposium, the newest research on China's Traditional Village Protection and Development Research Center under the Feng Jicai Research Institute of Art and Literature of Tianjin University was also exchanged. The latest research results of the Center —— The History of Dapin Village (《大汖村志》), and The Last Thirteen Villagers in Dapin Village (《大汖村最后十三人》) were launched during the symposium. A special exhibition themed "Dapin Village —— a traditional village that is about to disappear" was also held.

Traditional villages have great historical importance and cultural values, as well as distinct regional ethnic characteristics. They are the cultural heritage dating back to the agrarian age, which were protected by the country. They were the root and cradle of the Chinese nation.

China attaches great importance to the protection, succession and development of traditional villages, which have become a consensus in society. However, there are still many villages facing the hollowing problem, some of which are about to disappear. The hollowing problem is global and, comes as the result of modernization. This problem abruptly arose, rapidly and unpredictably with China’s development in the past 40 years.

Kulakova Marina from Russia sings a song at the symposium.

We can neither ignore the hollowing problem nor let the traditional villages disappear. The academic circle has the responsibility to directly face the challenge of the times and conduct in-depth research on the basis of field investigation, find the root causes, propose effective and feasible countermeasures, so as to help the government enact scientific protection measures and carry them forward.

China’s Traditional Village Protection and Development Research Center is a research center of Feng Jicai Research Institute of Art and Literature. The center has committed to the investigation and protection of traditional villages. The research on the hollowing problem of traditional villages in Dapin Village, Liangjiazhai Town, Yu County, Yangquan City, Shanxi Province, is the key issue in recent years. Dapin Village was selected as the second batch of “Chinese Traditional Villages” in 2013. For more than 30 years, the number of its villagers has decreased form over three hundred to only thirteen.

By: Wu Jingjing

Editors: Harlan Haverback, Sun Xiaofang