Uncategorized
Old house renovation project revitalizes traditional villages in China’s Zhejiang
By Dou Hanyang, People’s Daily
Zeng Ronghua lives in Yinyuan village, Sandu township, Songyang county, Lishui of east China’s Zhejiang province. In his newly renovated old house, red Chinese couplets pasted up on the two sides of the gate, and freshly baked fried sugar cakes make the house full of sweet smell.
This century-old house, surrounded by an atmosphere of happiness, was in disrepair two years ago. It was constantly buffeted by wind and rain.
“It all thanks to a restoration project,” Zeng said.
The project, aiming at conserving part of historical and cultural sites, as well as some heritage buildings with private property rights, was launched by the China Culture Relics Protection Foundation in Songyang county seven years ago. Zeng’s ancestral house was included in the project.
The worn-out door has been replaced with a handmade new one, and the ceiling and floor were also renovated. Four months later, the dilapidated house has been fully revamped and revitalized.
According to Zeng, the renovation waterproofed the house and installed insulation with modern techniques, and retained the house’s rammed earth walls to maximumly keep its original appearance.
Over 100 traditional villages have been well preserved in Songyang county, including 78 on the state protection list. Sandu township is home to nearly 1,000 old houses like Zeng’s, around 150 of which were included in the restoration project. A renovation team was specially established in the township to better preserve these buildings.
Zheng Sheng, deputy director of Songyang’s tourism development and service center, told People’s Daily that the project was launched to both optimize rural residents’ living environment and put cultural relics under better protection.
The China Culture Relics Protection Foundation funded around half of the renovation spending for each household, and 70 percent for those receiving subsistence allowance, Zheng said, adding that the rest of the spending was self-raised.
According to him, owners of the old houses could deduct the self-raised part through working and waste recycling, so that they could shoulder only around 1/4 of the total spending.
Apart from the old buildings, ancient roads, wells, monuments, and trees in the villages of Sandu have also been renovated while retaining their original appearance.
“The village is developing better now. We had only dirt roads in the past, but now they are paved with stones. Besides, cultural activities are often held in the hall that’s been renovated by the project,” said Chen Limei, a resident of Yinyuan village.
At present, the renovation project is still underway. Zeng has turned his spare rooms into a B&B hotel, which is the first in Yinyuan village and earns him an extra 20,000 yuan ($2,907) each year.
Nowadays, many young villagers who used to work out-of-town have returned to Sandu township, including Liu Wenyue, a designer of traditional Chinese costumes from Lizhuang village.
She turned a storage room of her ancestral house into a workshop and divided it into shooting, exhibition and working areas. She told People’s Daily that the ancestral house is her source of inspiration, where she designed 104 sets of traditional Chinese costumes last year that helped her gain an income of 700,000 yuan.
“I found the old houses in the village very lively,” said Sun Yingying, who runs a B&B hotel in Songzhuang village, Sandu township. A few years ago, Sun came to Songyang county. After visiting 18 villages in the county, she settled in Songzhuang village and established her B&B brand Taoye.
The foot traffic of the village surged nearly tenfold during the National Day holiday last year thanks to the B&B brand. The increasing visits have increased the income of villagers.
Zheng said the old house renovation project is not only a practice that advances the conservation of cultural relics, but also a livelihood program that inherits China’s fine traditional culture and promotes coordinated economic and social development.
“It is a bridge linking the protection of traditional villages and the utilization of cultural heritages,” Zheng noted.
This year, more and more villagers have returned to their ancestral houses. Zeng told People’s Daily that these houses are a symbol of nostalgia and will lead his hometown to a brighter future.
By Fabian Apechihin
The 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill has moved to the state level following its consideration by the National Assembly, paving the way for state legislatures to consider the proposed amendments.
The development comes amid renewed attention on constitutional reform and ongoing discussions over proposed changes to Nigeria’s governing framework.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over allegations surrounding borrowing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
House spokesperson Akin Rotimi Agbese, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, rejected claims that Wike had undertaken borrowing without the knowledge or approval of the National Assembly.
Agbese said the FCT minister could not independently create a sovereign borrowing obligation, stressing that public borrowing is subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative procedures.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” Agbese said.
He explained that borrowing to finance infrastructure was not unlawful where the required approvals and procedures had been followed.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development is not unlawful in itself, provided the prescribed approvals and procedures are followed,” he added.
The House spokesperson further argued that an increase in the FCT’s debt profile should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of illegal borrowing, citing the scale of infrastructure projects being undertaken in Abuja under Wike.
According to Agbese, the key issue is whether the appropriate approvals were obtained for specific borrowing transactions, rather than simply whether the FCT’s overall debt profile has increased.
The comments come as scrutiny continues over public borrowing, infrastructure financing and the legal procedures governing government debt at both the federal and sub-national levels.
By Fabian Apechihin
The 2026 Constitution Amendment Bill has moved to the state level following its consideration by the National Assembly, paving the way for state legislatures to consider the proposed amendments.
The development comes amid renewed attention on constitutional reform and ongoing discussions over proposed changes to Nigeria’s governing framework.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives has defended FCT Minister Nyesom Wike over allegations surrounding borrowing by the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
House spokesperson Akin Rotimi Agbese, speaking in an interview with Channels Television, rejected claims that Wike had undertaken borrowing without the knowledge or approval of the National Assembly.
Agbese said the FCT minister could not independently create a sovereign borrowing obligation, stressing that public borrowing is subject to constitutional, statutory and administrative procedures.
“Wike has committed no infraction in borrowings. There is no basis for the allegation that he has been borrowing money behind the back of the National Assembly,” Agbese said.
He explained that borrowing to finance infrastructure was not unlawful where the required approvals and procedures had been followed.
“Borrowing for infrastructure development is not unlawful in itself, provided the prescribed approvals and procedures are followed,” he added.
The House spokesperson further argued that an increase in the FCT’s debt profile should not automatically be interpreted as evidence of illegal borrowing, citing the scale of infrastructure projects being undertaken in Abuja under Wike.
According to Agbese, the key issue is whether the appropriate approvals were obtained for specific borrowing transactions, rather than simply whether the FCT’s overall debt profile has increased.
The comments come as scrutiny continues over public borrowing, infrastructure financing and the legal procedures governing government debt at both the federal and sub-national levels.
By Fabian Apechihin
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has reaffirmed its intention to contest the 2027 presidential election despite the decision of Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election bid.
The party said Wike’s decision was personal and did not alter its position to participate in the presidential election with its candidate, Senator Sandy Onor. PDP National Publicity Secretary, Jungudo Haruna Mohammed, made the clarification on Wednesday.
According to the party, a recent conversation between Wike and Onor should not be interpreted as a political negotiation between the minister and the PDP.
“He told Nigerians that Sandy is his friend. And they only had a friendly discussion within the umbrella of friendship. So, that is just a personal discussion between him and his friend,” Mohammed said.
He added that Wike’s support for Tinubu did not prevent the PDP from fielding candidates for the presidential, governorship and legislative elections.
Wike had earlier clarified that his support in 2027 was specifically for Tinubu’s presidential re-election and did not amount to an agreement that the PDP would withdraw from other electoral contests. He also said he never promised that the PDP would abandon its candidates for governorship, National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections.
“I said I will support the President from day one. I never told Mr President I will join APC,” Wike said.
The minister also maintained that his proposed Rainbow Coalition was not an arrangement with the All Progressives Congress (APC), but rather a platform through which politicians from different parties could mobilise support for Tinubu’s re-election.
The issue has generated disagreement with some APC governors, who have expressed concern about a political arrangement that could affect the party’s candidates at other levels.
APC Progressive Governors’ Forum Chairman, Hope Uzodinma, said the governors would not support any alliance or arrangement that could weaken the APC or adversely affect its candidates.
Meanwhile, APC presidential campaign council spokesperson Ima Niboro has urged Wike and APC governors to end their public exchanges and concentrate on political mobilisation.
“When I said tone down the rhetoric, I do not mean stop working. Stop talking, go and work,” Niboro said.
He urged political leaders to strengthen their grassroots structures and engage directly with voters rather than continue exchanging statements in the media.
“All this shouting is not taking anybody anywhere. Go and work. Go and establish your authority on your political base,” he said.
2026 Constitution Amendment Bill Moves to States
2026 Constitution Amendment Bill Moves to States
2027: PDP Insists on Presidential Contest Despite Wike’s Support for Tinubu
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