At home with change (4)

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By Sun Yuanqing (China Daily) 09:32, November 11, 2013

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"This project will provide insight for what we will be doing next: the idea of getting the private sector, the community and the government work together," UNESCO Beijing Office director Abhimanyu Singh said, after he visited a private residence under renovation in mid-August.

"It is a small beginning. But it is important because what happens here gets reported back to the World Heritage Committee. The experience gets shared and can be built upon in other countries."

But even renovations perhaps won't stop Pingyao's outflow of young people. The population increasingly belongs to Liu's generation.

"What happens when this generation is no longer there?" Singh says.

While Singh expects tourism to be the major source of revenue to protect and maintain Pingyao in the long term, the town is also looking for new money-spinners.

The government built a 130 million yuan industrial park to develop hand-polished lacquer ware, a millennium-old local handicraft listed as a national intangible cultural heritage.

A modern international art center was built in a former textile mill.

The hottest new attraction is the Another Glance at Pingyao performance that infuses the town's history and culture into a tragic epic.

Ji Hongfu believes a renovation will make his house more livable for his family.

His greatest concern is his courtyard was built in the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368), while most hail from the Ming and Qing eras.

So, he worries the local craftsman might not be familiar with Yuan-style building methods.

"I've been watching their work," he says. "The houses they renovated last year are more authentic than those they did the year before. This year is even better. I believe there is a future for our house. It's a gift from our ancestors - one we'll pass on.