Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issues the '15th Five-Year Plan' for the protection and inheritance of historic and cultural cities

On October 22, 2026, according to a China Tourism News report, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development recently issued the '15th Five-Year Plan for the Protection and Inheritance of Historic and Cultural Cities (Towns, Villages) and Historic Buildings,' proposing to deepen the integration of culture, commerce and tourism and to promote culture-enabled high-quality urban and rural development. The plan discloses that as of the end of the '14th Five-Year Plan' period, China had 143 national historic and cultural cities, 799 Chinese historic and cultural towns and villages, and 8,155 Chinese traditional villages; more than 1,300 historic and cultural blocks had been designated, and 68,900 historic buildings had been recognized. The plan also proposes tasks such as advancing resource surveys and recognition, strengthening holistic protection and living inheritance, creating distinctive historic-scene touring routes, and giving play to the educational function of heritage. On the same day, Pinchain Tourism reported further that during the '15th Five-Year Plan' period, a batch of protection and upgrading projects will be implemented for the historic urban areas of national historic and cultural cities, Chinese historic and cultural towns and villages, and 300 historic and cultural blocks, promoting localities to repair and upgrade 15,000 historic buildings and 1,000 traditional villages, and selecting 60 counties (cities, districts, banners) to carry out the construction of traditional-village distinctive protection zones. The plan has currently been issued, and no further reports on specific implementation arrangements have been seen.