Traditional villages need legal support

Researcher calls for new safeguards as number of communities declines

The lead author of a research report on China's traditional villages has called on legislators to draft a law that protects these culturally important communities from fading away.

The number of these villages fell from more than 3.6 million to about 2.7 million between 2000 and 2010, according to the Investigation Report on the Protection of Chinese Traditional Villages.