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Revival of Pingtian Village in Songyang County Sun, et al.

1. INTRODUCTION relocates village settlements outside the
Pingtian village (平田村) is located in the mountains in order to facilitate development.
northern mountainous region of Songyang Some impoverished villages located deep in
county (松阳县) in the southwest of Zhejiang the mountains have inconvenient
Province, with a total population of 402, all transportation, under-developed economy,
bearing the same family name, Jiang. The and insufficient infrastructure. These villages
village is only 15 minutes car-ride to the are planned to be holistically relocated to the
nearest town (i.e., Xiping Town, the county plains down the mountain. In Sidu town,
seat). More affluent villagers usually have which administrates Pingtian village,
apartments in the town or new houses in the villagers in deep mountains have all been
new village. The historic village has only relocated. The only exceptions are those with
seniors or impoverished households, who relatively convenient transportation and
make a living by growing cash crops like beautiful landscape, including Pingtian,
vegetables, white tea, and torreya. It is a Xikeng and Chenjiapu villages. In the future,
typical hollowed village. Pingtian was listed they will be managed as closed-off 4A level
in 2014 as one of the Chinese Traditional scenic area, with 5A level being the highest.
Villages because it is a representational In the first meeting with the village committee,
mountain farming settlement in Songyang the villagers’ biggest concern was the
county. In the historic village, apart from distribution of relocation quota.
several new constructions, most buildings are The conservation and development of
in traditional style, which is characterized by traditional villages provided Pingtian a
rammed earth walls and tile roofs. The valuable opportunity. This small mountainous
buildings are arranged according to the village that was about to be neglected in the
changing terrain of the mountain, amidst process of urbanization grasped the chance to
frequent rising clouds and mist. It is a popular change its development path. After several
destination for photographers and plain-air years of planning and reconstruction, Pingtian
painters. was reborn and revitalized with new
As a county under the poverty line, momentum of development.
Songyang adopts a poverty relief policy that

Figure 1. Pingtian Village before the renovation. Source: Photo by Junjie Li

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