On June 23, seven departments—the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the Ministry of Culture, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Natural Resources, the Ministry of Agriculture, and the China National Tourism Administration—jointly issued a notice outlining specific measures for strengthening the protection of traditional Chinese villages in 2015. The notice emphasized the need to promptly establish a system for officially designating and protecting traditional villages and to strictly enforce licensing requirements for rural construction planning.

　　The notice clarifies that central financial funds will support the protection of China’s traditional villages. In 2015, priority will be given to villages included in the first two batches of the List of China’s Traditional Villages—specifically, those villages that were listed in previous years but have not yet received central financial subsidies. The provincial departments of housing and urban-rural development, culture, cultural relics, finance, land and resources, agriculture, and tourism shall, in accordance with relevant policy requirements, submit the application documents for inclusion in the scope of central financial support to the seven ministries and commissions by July 10, 2015.

　　The notice requires that the supplementary survey of traditional villages continue to be carried out, with a particular focus on regions and ethnic groups not yet covered by the first three batches of the List of China’s Traditional Villages. Timely entry into the Traditional Village Survey Information System (village.mohurd.gov.cn) is also required. Local lists of traditional villages should be established, and villages with certain conservation value that have not yet been included in the List of China’s Traditional Villages should be promptly added to these local lists. We must ensure the effective implementation and ongoing supervision of China’s traditional village protection projects. In accordance with the approved conservation and development plans, we should diligently carry out the implementation of these protection projects, expedite the establishment of a system for designated protection signs, and strictly enforce licensing requirements for rural construction planning.