Preserve the authenticity and charm of old towns

Over the past year, I must have visited some 50 old towns during my travels across China. Some are deservedly famous, including Lijiang and Dali in Yunnan province and the Xijiang One Thousand Household Miao Village in Guizhou province.

But perhaps the most impressive are those little-known places tucked away from the tourist trail. Among them is the Tianmen Bouyei Ancient Village, a 600-year-old traditional village of ethnic Bouyei people nestled deep in the mountains of Guizhou province, about a three-hour drive from Liupanshui.

Its traditional wooden stilted houses stand as they have for centuries, and have not been given cosmetic facelifts to please tourists. In fact, there are hardly any tourists there because the village is so difficult to reach.

By sheer coincidence, we arrived there during the Bouyei people's June Sixth Festival, which is celebrated on the sixth day of the sixth month of the lunar calendar. The entire village gathered for a festive meal, sharing food and laughter like an extended family. It was a living tradition, not a staged performance for visitors.

Another memorable stop was the Suoga Miao Village, about a two-hour drive from Liupanshui. It too has preserved much of its traditional way of life. With many old wooden houses, it is known for the distinctive headdresses of women — massive wooden horns wrapped with white wool and their own hair, symbolizing reverence for nature and their ancestors.

One woman patiently demonstrated how she creates the elaborate longhorn headdress for her teenaged granddaughter, passing on a tradition from one generation to another.

There is no doubt that tourism helps showcase China's rich cultural heritage to more people and boosts the local economy. But excessive commercialization can change the authentic character of a place, as it has in many old towns and villages across the country.

The Xijiang One Thousand Household Miao Village is one such example. As the largest ethnic Miao settlement in China, it has more than a thousand traditional wooden stilt houses built along steep mountain slopes. It presents a breathtaking view, especially at night when the whole village lights up like a constellation of warm yellow lights.

Today, most homes there have been converted into family-run hotels, restaurants and shops catering to the swarm of tourists flocking to this National AAAAA attraction.

Tourism has helped lift local people out of poverty and created prosperity, but to me the touristy village is less appealing than the authenticity of the Tianmen and Suoga villages.

I am reminded of an article I wrote about 25 years ago in the Shanghai Star, a tabloid run by China Daily, after visiting two scenic canal towns near Shanghai.

Zhouzhuang had already become a commercial tourism success, while Wuzhen was relatively unknown and far less crowded. I wrote then that I hoped Wuzhen would retain its tranquility.

Of course, history had other plans. Wuzhen today is even more famous than Zhouzhuang.

It is regarded as a model of balancing commercial success with the preservation of its historical character.

However, most old towns in China have become too commercialized. It's disheartening to see nearly every house in Xijiang One Thousand Household Miao Village turned into a business.

It reminds one of Zhouzhuang in the 1990s, when shop after shop was selling the town's well-known pig's knuckle delicacy.

Even more dismaying is the craze to build "old towns" purely for commercial purposes over the past two decades. Many such newly built "old towns" are eyesores. They look more like theme parks than old towns because there are hardly any "old" houses there. Strictly speaking, they should not be allowed to be labeled as "old towns".

Despite enormous investment, few of these heritage projects have been successful in attracting tourists. Many have become ghost towns.

There should be a balance between developing tourism and preserving local culture, traditions and lifestyles that give old towns their identity.

For example, zoning is necessary so that local people can live there just like their parents and grandparents did, while commercial activities should be confined to designated areas.

Old towns are very charming, but that charm is also very fragile. It could quickly be lost if authenticity is replaced by excessive tourism development.

The author is a China Daily columnist.