By
Clifford Pearson
An innovative public-private effort to restore an historic village near the foothills of the Himalayas, this project involved preparing a survey of historic structures, developing a land-use plan, drawing up design guidelines for buildings in the historic part of town, restoring hundreds of old houses, and even tearing down insensitive new buildings. It also included a preservation incentive fund that helps local residents pay for restoring their homes. Four year after UNESCO designated Lijiang a World Heritage site in 1997, the California-based nonprofit Global Heritage Fund (GHF) initiated the program and helped clean up the polluted water system. Lijiang, which is home to the Naxi people, is “the only living ancient village in China,” says Jeff Morgan, founder of GHF. “The idea was to help devise a strategy for the village for at least the next 20 years. 
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