A political advisor appealed in Beijing on Monday for China to exercise greater care for rural cultural heritage in the fight to alleviate poverty nationwide.

Fan Di'an, a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the president of China's Central Academy of Fine Arts, praised the Chinese government's efforts and policies in recent years to reduce poverty, but noted that a key element of the process has been somewhat overlooked. 

"Rural cultural heritage is a very significant resource to potentially increase farmers' wealth during the process of building a new and better countryside, so finding ways to examine and draw on rural heritage is important," Fan said. He noted that this aspect is sometimes overlooked when he observed a number of ancient villages tearing down cultural sites. 

"In new planning and construction for rural development and poverty alleviation，I saw that many bridges, traditional outdoor stages and locally flavored residential structures were gone," he expressed with concern.

Fan continued, "Many good old traditions, handicraft skills and legacies handed down through family generations are also disappearing and losing inheritors due to the young and middle-aged rural populations leaving the countryside for better jobs in the cities."

Fan recalled traveling to the northwest Shaanxi plateau and witnessing abundant folk singing, dance, architecture and arts. "These are not just great art forms and resources, but also a part of farmers' lives," he said, "but there's not enough scientific protection and utilization."

The former director of the National Art Museum of China suggested that in the process to combat poverty, local governments survey and study local relics and intangible cultural heritage, then seek ways for farmers to use their heritage to produce wealth while also finding inspiration through cultural attainment and knowledge.

Fan is currently attending the first session of the 13th CPPCC National Committee, which will close on March 15.

Since the start of the era of reform and opening-up in 1978, China's economic boom has helped end poverty for more than 700 million people. As of the end of 2015, 55.75 million Chinese people were still living in poverty.

Poverty relief is high on China's 2016-2020 agenda, with the government vowing to lift all citizens out of poverty by 2020. 

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