Hollowing out in rural areas

At a recent press conference held by the State News Office, Ni Hong, spokesman for the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and Zhao Hui, director of the Department of villages and towns, introduced the investigation of traditional dwellings and the protection of traditional villages. Zhao Hui said that the phenomenon of disappearance of traditional villages exists, and awareness has generally been raised in various places after the start of protection work, and the phenomenon has been brought under control.

As to how many traditional villages have disappeared, Zhao Hui said that the Ministry of Housing and Construction has conducted a comprehensive survey of traditional villages since 2012, and the phenomenon of traditional villages disappearing does exist. Some villages disappear because of the expansion of urban construction areas and the inevitable demolition brought about by infrastructure construction, while others may disappear because of natural disasters, especially some fires, and so on. in particular, some traditional buildings in the southwest are basically wooden structure, and fire passageways and so on are not perfect, the hidden danger of fire is great, and very few of them disappear because of the fire.

Zhao Hui said that after the protection work of the Ministry of Housing and Construction was launched, it played a fundamental role in reversing the further disappearance. Local awareness was generally raised, and protection was increased. At the same time, it was not allowed to relocate and demolish, and disaster prevention measures also kept up. The disappearance of traditional villages has been brought under control.

With regard to "rural residents go to work in cities, there is a phenomenon of hollowing out in rural areas," Zhao Hui said. This is a more common phenomenon in traditional villages. Many traditional villages are distributed in poor areas and mountain villages in China, especially in the central and western regions. In order to get rich, many young people come out, which is also a general law of rural development in various countries. From the process of urbanization, villages will be divided, villages with more developed traffic and better location advantages may have different functions, and then villages will develop mixed with these functions, which is in a state of development. Some of the more developed agriculture is to maintain balance, and there are more remote places. Although governments have made a lot of efforts to support this development, it is inevitable that there will be a gradual loss of population.

Zhao Hui said that it is very clear how to understand and treat this phenomenon. We should not tear it down or move it out just because it is hollow. In a broad sense, this understanding and practice is wrong. Many places have raised these questions. As a matter of fact, the hollow is still inhabited, and these people may be old people, but these old people rely on these limited production resources around the village, three mu of land or a small piece of forest to maintain their own livelihood through their own labour. at the same time, these old people do not have the ability to work in cities. If some people leave and some of them survive in this village, and we wishfully move them out, they will lose the ability to create value. After moving out, it will do more harm than good to the government, to individuals and to society.

Zhao Hui said: judging from the experience of various countries, what is generally adopted is to continuously strengthen support for this group, which is not only an economic problem and a cultural inheritance issue, but also a regional social inheritance issue, which cannot be cut off. This should be the concept and practice that the government should have.