[Photo provided to China Daily]

Most villagers take Hu's words seriously. But they can't afford the cost of repairs.

To repair an ancient house takes a lot of money.

Just to stabilize it and fix its wooden windows can cost about 30,000 yuan ($4,500). But the average annual income of villagers who work in the rice fields is about 10,000 yuan, says Hu.

Huang Qinhua, a local official in Jinxi, says: "A resident often pays 2,000 to 6,000 yuan for the repairs and the government covers the rest."

Separately, Huang says the local government also wants to bring in private funds to protect the ancient villages.