Seven hours' drive southwest of Shanghai lies Songyang, an 1,800-year-old county with hundreds of ancient villages in Zhejiang Province, China. It still keeps up the cultural tradition and architectural features of ancient villages in Southeast China. By the invitation of Songyang County Government, architect Xu Tiantian and her team revamped and upgraded the old houses, workshops and ancestral halls in the village in the spirit of treating local cultural tradition with respect and “minimal intervention”. Then the local traditional handicrafts would not be abandoned.With the youths coming back, the village is revitalized.

We have used two pairs of examples in this exhibition, hoping to provide from the perspective of architectural cultural heritage an insight into the innovative model of rural revitalization China has been exploring. We also hope to provide some reference to and set people think about global rural development.