The hands of modernization have brought along pollution, expansion and change all which threaten the centuries-old village of Tuanshan's Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) style two-storey compounds and the villagers' traditional ways of life.

"The contradiction between the limited space, limited capacities and the ever increasing number of residents in the village has become stark," said Huang Ming, a senior urban planner. "Congestion, pollution and noise all adversely affect the tranquillity of the ancient secluded village and disturb the daily life of local residents."

Zhang Jiannong, an official in charge of cultural affairs with Jianshui County, said that along with changes in residents' concepts of lifestyle in Tuanshan Village, the existing infrastructure and living environment could no longer sustain the growing needs of a modern life, or cater to the demands of a developing modern industrialized economy.

In the meantime, more and more residents in the village turn to new ways and materials in home repairs at their own cost, thus halting the continuity in the traditional architecture style in the village, Zhang said.

For those reasons and more, Tuanshan Village, 220 kilometres south of Kunming, capital of Southwest China's Yunnan Province, has been listed by the World Monuments Fund (WMF) as one of the 100 Most Endangered Places for the year 2006.

John H Stubbs, WMF vice-president, made a special trip early last month to Kunming to grant a certificate to a government official of Jianshui County which administers Tuanshan Village.

"Tuanshan is the most beautiful village, where the architectural style of the 19th century and beyond remains intact, and the distinctive way of people's life is preserved, fully showcasing China's indigenous cultural characteristics," Stubbs said. "We put Tuanshan on our Watch List because we believe it is of world value and is the common heritage of the whole humankind."

Apart from Tuanshan, five other Chinese sites were also included by WMF, a non-profit international organization based in New York, in its Watch List for the year 2006.

Tuanshan's buildings, mostly built during the late Qing Dynasty period, includes houses situated around courtyards, with its faade facing the east and featuring black tiled roofs, pointed eaves, and whitewashed outer walls.

Although it made it to a high-profile protection list, factors such as pollution, the increased human activities in the village, wooden structures ravished by bugs, and erosion of stone engravings caused by weathering, continue to plague efforts to protect the centuries-old village.

While echoing urban planner Huang's view that the main problem Tuanshan Village is now facing is due to the ever expanding population and the worsening environment, Zhang contended it was hard to strike a balance between the two.

"Unplanned construction of bungalows as a result of overpopulation will ruin the village, but relocation of extra villagers will eventually lead to the loss of the unique lifestyle and traditional ways of Tuanshan Villagers," Zhang said with concern.

Village history

According to historical records, under the reign of Emperor Taizu, or Zhu Yuanzhang (1368-98) of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), an ethnic Han tribe migrated all the way from East China's Jiangxi Province to Yunnan.

They settled down in Tuanshan Village, living peacefully together with the people of the Yi ethnic group.

The cultural blend of the Han and local Yi people is ubiquitous in the architecture features still preserved today in Tuanshan, where a total of 920 people consisting of 240 families still live.

The Jianshui County government worked out a detailed plan in 2004 pertaining to the protection of Tuanshan Village. Meanwhile, a new residential area will open to take in residents relocated from Tuanshan Village, whose residents can only be confined to 104 families, with a total of 504 people.

However, an acute financial shortage has become another obstacle for preservation measures.

Pu Meiqing, chief of the Construction Bureau of Jianshui County, said he hopes that the inclusion of Tuanshan Village in the Watch List of the World's Most Endangered Sites could help increase publicity about the plight of the ancient village and thus bring in some financial aid for its protection.

(China Daily November 2, 2005)