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Despite stringent protective measures taken by local authorities, traditional villages in Jiangxi province are currently dealing with an epidemic of thefts, with many building components being stolen or illegally traded.

Jiangxi province is home to around 1,000 traditional villages. According to an Outlook Weekly report, thieves disturbed over 150 traditional villages as well as thousands of pieces of traditional architecture in Jinxi, Jiangxi province.

Due to a clampdown by local police, the number of such cases has gone down in the past few years, but the theft of building components is still rampant thanks to insufficiently severe punishments and public awareness, said Xu Guowen, a local police officer.

“Our village was included on the state protection list of traditional villages in 2013, and ever since then many thieves have come to our village and have stolen components of traditional buildings, including wooden furniture and gilded windows ,” said Peng Songyuan, director of the resident committee for the village of Tangqianpengjia.

“Building components cannot be recognized as cultural relics. Thus, we can only give the stolen items a rough evaluation. Most stolen items aren’t worth much if we don’t consider their cultural importance, so thieves normally receive minor punishments rather than criminal prosecution due to the small amount of money involved,” explained Li Minghua, a police officer from Yihuang, Jiangxi province.

“Components like stone mills and carved windows are not cultural relics, but they are still crucial elements of traditional Chinese civilization. Traditional villages cannot be considered intact without their presence,” noted Liang Hongshen, a history professor from Jiangxi Normal University.

In addition to more stringent laws to punish theft, experts also suggested that local residents be encouraged to protect their own villages, as these efforts can help with both preservation and also the promotion of culture and traditions attached to the villages.

China kicked off its protection program for ancient villages in 2012. A total of 4,157 traditional villages were selected from 2.6 million Chinese rural villages to be part of the program. Each one can receive a state subsidy of 3 million RMB for protecting cultural relics and traditions.