China is determined to make extra efforts to protect its traditional and historic villages, as a huge number of them have been demolished amid rapid urbanization.

Historic buildings should not be removed but instead put under careful protection, said Zhao Hui, director of the rural construction department of the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development.

"Today we launched work to protect traditional villages as a whole, including tangible and intangible cultural heritage," he said. "Therefore, historic buildings should not be removed but gradually repaired and improved."