Tibet adds 14 historical cultural towns, villages

The government of Tibet Autonomous Region has approved six new towns and eight new villages as renowned historical cultural spots, which include Chentang Town of Dingjie County in Shigatse Prefecture Dadong Village of Liuwu New District in Lhasa City, according to official information.

According to the Department of Housing and Construction of Tibet Autonomous Region, in order to protect the cultural features and ethnic characters of Tibetan-style architecture and promote traditional ethnic culture, the selection of renowned historical and cultural villages and towns are based on the level of preservation of its original architecture, historical value, and customs and character, etc. The criteria also include whether the towns' and villages' buildings reflect a region's specialty style, traditional construction techniques of ethnic features, architectural legacies, cultural relics, etc.

A person in charge said that according to the Ministry of Housing and Construction of China, the governing bodies of the historical and cultural towns and villages should strengthen the protection and orderly construction of these villages and towns, make a detailed development plan, use effective and stringent protective measures, ban any disorganized dismantling, construction, or development, so that these nonrenewable historical and cultural resources can be well protected.

Currently, there are three national-level historical cultural cities, two national-level historical cultural towns, and three Chinese historical cultural villages in Tibet.