Resilience of Wengding, the Phoenix Wa traditional village

Abstract

The village of Wengding, ancestral home of the Wa ethnic group, considered as China’s last primitive tribe, suffered near-complete extinction due to a fire incident in 2021. Historical records indicate that stilt-style buildings, also in Wengding, are highly susceptible to fire. Nevertheless, this has not hindered the long-term existence of these distinctive architectural forms. This study analyses the reasons for the sustained existence of the traditional building forms in Wengding, from the perspective of resilience. The findings indicate that the requirements of the traditional nomadic civilization for rapid construction of dwellings, the communal consciousness toward disaster resistance, and the implementation of spatially oriented fire protection measures collectively account for the swift recovery and reconstruction observed in Wengding village after the disaster. These aspects are tangible manifestations of the capacity of the village for resilience. Overall, resilience is essential for the sustainability of such traditional villages in the long term.