BEIJING, April 28 (Xinhua) -- Ian Hamlinton, a 52-year-old architect from South Africa, has lived in a traditional village in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region for 14 years.
"It was love at first sight," said Hamlinton, describing his feelings toward the ancient dwellings in Jiuxian Village in Yangshuo County when he first came to China 20 years ago.
Jiuxian, with a history dating back to the Tang Dynasty (618-907), is categorized as a traditional village, also known as ancient village. Such villages often have a long history and boast abundant cultural and natural resources.
Hamlinton rented six ancient dwellings in the village from 2010 to 2012 on a 20-year lease in order to protect and renovate them.
He repaired the courtyard walls that had fallen into disrepair for many years, and preserved almost every piece of furniture in the house to faithfully restore traditional architectural features with modern craftsmanship.
The renovated ancient dwelling became a homestay in 2011, and it also serves as a good example for ancient dwelling preservation. In 2012, Jiuxian was included in the state protection list for traditional villages, and tourists from around the world came to visit the village.
Nationwide, China has so far inscribed a total of 8,155 traditional villages to its state protection list in an effort to conserve the country's millennia-old agricultural civilization.
Under this initiative, China has built the world's largest agricultural heritage protection network, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.
"More and more people are recognizing the value of old dwellings, and these dwellings are the real spirit of traditional villages," said Hamlinton.
American Brian Linden is also a fan of China's traditional villages. The 60-year-old and his family chose to settle down in Xizhou Town of southwest China's Yunnan Province over a decade ago.
With the support of the local government, he renovated a historical building covering an area of 1,800 square meters and situated between Cangshan Mountain and Erhai Lake in Dali. His goal was to create a center for cultural exchange.
The architecture boasts the rectangular layout of traditional style of Bai minority courtyards, with the screen wall facing the entrance and a grand reflecting wall decorated with conventional paintings and the other three sides used as living quarters.
To retain the original appearance of the building, he invited over 100 locals to join his team, all of whom were "experts in characteristics and structures of old houses".
It took Linden's team about four years to establish the first Linden Center. Linden purposely does not equip his guest rooms with some modern amenities such as televisions, glass curtain walls and bathtubs, instead, he decorated the hotel with a traditional style. He currently has seven similar sites throughout rural China
The Linden Center serves as a cultural exchange platform. Linden invited American high school students to spend semesters in Xizhou Town studying local traditions. The students wrote papers on their local discoveries.
"China has already become the place where I feel most at home. I hope to make contributions to culture exchange between China and western countries, to help show world the cultural richness of this incredible country," said Linden.
For 38-year-old British expat Edward Gawne, his life was changed by an ancient Hui-style dwelling in east China's Jiangxi Province.
Situated in Wuyuan County, the historical dwelling has been renovated by Gawne and his Chinese wife into a contemporary teahouse and guesthouse that immerses travelers from all over the world in local culture.
The couple moved in the then ramshackle building eight years ago after quitting their jobs in Shanghai, aiming to care for the woodwork and stonework that retained Chinese cultural identity.
Gawne replicated ancient methods to repair the building to make sure that the Hui style is on full display. While replacing decayed beams, he added modern designs to tackle issues such as poor lighting and instable framework that are common in old residential constructions.
Two years of renovation have breathed new life into the building, as well as the couple. Their guesthouse business started two years ago, and their two children were born and bred here.
Guests would frequent places including an ancient wall inscribed with a Chinese character "happiness" and a bar counter that used to be those giant timber beams.
The reinvigorated building also serves as a "bridge" for cultural exchange as nearly 90 percent of the guests come from abroad, said Gawne's wife Liao Minxin.
"The old dwelling is over 300 years old, while I am only in my 30s. I am not the owner of it, but a guardian," said Gawne. ■
