Facing the rapid changing or disappearing of traditional villages,the academia and the government want to do something about them.Currently,only a few traditional villages have been protected,and the protecting patterns are still at groping stage.There are three main thoughts for traditional villages protection.The first one highlights the protection of dwellings and precious ancient architecture yet omits the interests of the traditional village residents.The second is that protection can be achieved through developing tourism at traditional villages.But in a long run the interests and demands of local residents and the villages are still at risk.The third is village renovation for protecting traditional villages,which provides the most needed public facilities,can be regarded as a kind of protection to be promoted.We should hold the idea that the center of traditional village protection is residents’ rights and interests.Traditional villages have dual attributes including historical and cultural heritage and realistic living environment.Residents in traditional village are owners of the traditional village.The protection of the traditional village must give advantages to the residents,which should be the basis in traditional village protection.