An elderly villager at his ancient house in Jinxi county, Jiangxi province. [Photo by Zhou Fuyang, Li Huihuang and Jie Gang/China Daily]

For instance, Guo's team and the organizer of Digital Heritage Around China have promised to help fix decaying houses.

But Guo says repairing the houses is relatively easy compared with convincing young villagers to return home from the cities.

These villages that reply mainly on agriculture can't provide enough job opportunities like big cities do. However, Guo says she sees hope when she meets young people making plans for their hometowns.

A young man who Guo met earlier this year told her that he realized the value of the houses in his village when he saw how ancient houses are protected in other countries.

So he has decided to return home and to start work on repairing his own house.

"In China, the link between people and their villages is very powerful. So, I believe there's hope that the next generation will respond," she says.

Contact the writer at dengzhangyu@chinadaily.com.cn