A man works on the renovation of an old house in Songyang county, Zhejiang province on May 25. [Photo by Huang Zongzhi/Xinhua]

Songyang, a county in East China's Zhejiang province, has completed the renovation of nearly 120 old houses built hundreds of years ago over the past two years.

The "Saving Old Houses" program, jointly initiated by the State Administration of Cultural Heritage and the China Foundation for Cultural Heritage Conservation, chose Songyang county as a pilot site in January, 2016.  When the project got underway, the foundation invested around 31.25 million yuan ($4.88 million) in repairing 142 old houses in 35 villages of the county.

The program, with social organizations, government departments and the public involved, has been deemed as a successful way of protecting traditional villages in the area.