New resources

The national census began in November 2023 and will end in 2026. After preparations, field investigations started in May in the cities of Shaanxi. Census takers visit the sites to survey and map them using real-time kinematic devices, take aerial photos with drones and other photos from different angles, measure the sizes of buildings, collect specimens and record all the detailed information in the census database.

In addition to rechecking sites that are already on the list recorded by the third census, members add new sites and gain a better understanding of China's heritage resources. For example, in Baoji, Shaanxi, census takers found a complex of primitive simplicity when they visited Zifu village, Qishan county, Baoji, to check another site where they discovered the ancestral hall of the Shen family from the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) and added it to their census list.

According to Shen Dekui, who is in his 80s and a descendant of the Shen family, the complex was built in 1833 in memory of their ancestor Shen Jin, a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) official. The nearly 200-year-old complex was renovated in 2016 through family fundraising and is well-preserved.

"For newly discovered sites, we record their realities and report to the cultural heritage authorities. In the future, they will be identified and possibly classified as sites protected at different levels," Zhao says.

According to Zhou Junli, deputy Party secretary of Zifu village, the village used to have three prominent families — Wang, Zhou and Shen — each with an ancestral hall. However, only the halls of Zhou and Shen families have been preserved.

Zhou says villagers welcome the census and hope ancient buildings will be preserved.

He also mentions that the ancestral hall will be opened to the public to become part of local rural tourist development.

With a picturesque view, the village attracted nearly 10,000 people daily when large fields of yellow rapeseed flowers bloomed last year. Moreover, the millet wine industry is developing and cultural heritage resources will become a new highlight in its rural tourist development, Zhou says.