Case Study in Danba County of the Effect of Rural Hollowing on Tibetan Culture Preservation

Rural hollowing, a recently heated topic, has received significant attention from both the public and the China government. Experiencing a rapid phase of modernization, rural areas suffer from hollowing in many dimensions, encompassing geographically and culturally. Lacking essential technologies, many young adults in villages choose to leave their homes and seek for opportunities in towns or cities, eventually leading to ultimate abandonment of rural dwellings. Damaged dwellings, acting as a result of labor hollowing, have different degrees of destruction from moderate to severe. As a team doing field research, we meticulously discover those damages and actively investigate practical solutions. By interviewing the local people, our team is able to analyze hollowing from agriculture, technology, economy, transportation and population perspective, each with its disabilities. Furthermore, critically judging its influence, we directly point out both the benefits and shortcomings of rural hollowing, providing an impersonal reflection of current situation. As a whole, combining with the policy of counties revitalization, largely pushing counties and towns to absorb each benefit may be a feasible solution in the future.