Children play in an old ancestral temple. [Photo by Zhou Fuyang, Li Huihuang and Jie Gang/China Daily]

The top annual meetings of the National People's Congress and the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference are commonly referred to as the two sessions.

But not all old houses are demolished. Some are transformed into tourist attractions and the local residents are replaced by businesspeople.

Guo says houses in Jinxi have retained their olden-day forms as locals have great respect for their ancestors.

"People don't demolish old houses. They may leave for the cities or build new houses near their village," says Guo, whose team has been in the area for two months now with the sole aim of studying the houses and protecting them.

She has helped with a conference called Digital Heritage Around China to raise awareness and money for the protection and preservation of ancient villages.

In Youdian village, there are 72 ancient stone buildings with walls that are several meters high. The village's most famous ancestor was Hu Guifang, a senior official in the Ming Dynasty, who was then in charge of construction, transportation and agriculture.

He returned to the village only after his retirement.