Tourism is the bastion of the local Huangshan economy – both residents and the local government have a vested economic interest in ensuring the region’s history survives for all to see.

While Huangshan's most significant historical sights have been long protected, the local government has been placing greater emphasis in recent years on ensuring the city's other treasures, such as ancient village dwellings, also benefit from preservation schemes. In 2009, for instance, the city government kicked off its '100 Villages, 1,000 buildings: Restoring Old Dwellings to Livability' campaign. The aim of the program was to combine two seemingly conflicting imperatives: villagers wanted nice places to live; old dwellings had historical value and were worth protecting, but were unsuitable for inhabitation in their present form.

As the campaign progresses, 1,065 old dwellings will be restored to their former glory in 101 villages in the Huangshan City area. Plans covering the next five years also aim to completely or partly restore 30 traditional villages and 10 other 'ancient dwelling areas', while ensuring each has the modern facilities demanded by contemporary lifestyles. Ecology and sustainability are also stressed in construction.

The '100 Villages, 1,000 buildings: Restoring Old Dwellings to Livability' campaign is not only focusing on the 'tangible' aspect of cultural heritage. It also aims to ensure that the villages, once restored, will find a place on the tourist trail through Huangshan, and hence have access to income channels. Besides the stunning architecture, the government is also promoting the preservation of various aspects of local folk culture and the development of other non-architectural tourist draw cards.

A teacher instructs a student in inkstone making.

While tourism is important, the key to the project is ensuring Huizhou's grand historical legacy continues to survive. Architecture is the body of this legacy; intangible culture is its soul.

Some villages participating in the '100 Villages, 1,000 Buildings' program have found novel ways to derive economic benefits from their reinvigorated architectural glory. Yixian County's Xiuli Village is one such example – it's turned itself into a successful 'film village', where directors come – and pay – to shoot period pieces.