♪ depopulation has become a serious issue in china's rural villages. in the nearly 40 years since the nation's reform and open door

policy, many workers have migrated to cities abandoning their homes and fields. the existence of more than two million villages in china is said to be in jeopardy. the government has been devising new measures to address abandoned land for the past few years. meanwhile, some people have begun reviving villages in their own ways.

villages that have been left behind amid growth are suffering from depopulation. now one village is taking a unique, new step to combat this issue. the province is located next to the china capital of beijing. it's long been known for its numerous agricultural regions. it's farmer town in southern hebei. about 1,000 people are registered on the village's family records but some 40% live

elsewhere. all the young people have left town for work. the villages built around the road connecting to the villages to the city. this was the first paved road built here in the 1970s. until this road was made there was a village along side a stream a short distance away. stores along the road mainly sell goods to long distance truck drivers passing through. many remaining villagers still tend to their fields and are almost self-sufficient. the average annual income is 1,300 u.s. dollars roughly one-tenth that of beijing.

a village used to be located here but the stream dried up 30 years ago.

all of the villages functional buildings like the town hall and shops have moved to the main roadside. some elderly residents insist on living in their remote homes. at night, there are no lights and they hardly see other people even during the day. wang, 82, was born here and has never set foot outside of this village.

he's watched over the home and fields inherited from his parents and raised five children here, but now all his family and neighbors have left. yet, he refuses to leave this land for as long as he lives. h his house is more than 100 years old.

until several years ago, 11 people across three households lived here. his parents, his family and his older brother's family. before that, the families of his uncles and grand uncles also lived here. the clan had lived the same way through every era, but now only he and his wife live here. the house remains as a symbol of their family.

as workers left the villages, many fields became neglected. however, thanks to the exchange or rental of farmland, the fields are protected. wang, tongying, 69, has slowly increased his share of farmlands. he borrowed fields under fav favorable conditions for his son who he hopes may return to the village one day.

tongying harvested 5300 meters of land and makes about 1,000

u.s. dollars a year. 20 years ago he renovated his home with his long term savings hoping to live with his son, but his son left with his own children two years ago. that's how it happened that tongying tongying lives in such a large home with just his wife. tongying's grandson will be 18 this year.

he's already left his parents home to attend a high school in large town. tongying, who only graduated from junior high school is very proud of his grandson. hoping to help him attend university, he's saving up his small income. with tongying, his son's family and his grandson living separately, they only get together once a year for the chinese new year. one man visits many of the elderly who live alone in the

village. wang jien, communist party secretary has been involved with this village's issues for over 30 years. on this day one elderly woman asked him to check her steve. the important thing is to listen to each resident.

in china, more than half of those aged 75 and over live alone. an increasing number die alone as well. it turns out there was no problem with the stove.

when homes are no inhabited, they slowly deteriorate and become delapidated. the houses near the streams are so run down that they can't be inhabited. in china, it's difficult to redevelop neglected residential areas. there are no land certificates that approve paid rentals of the homes and villages. abandoned homes are taken over by wild animals. homes should be demolished for safety, but the owners can't be located to gain permission. in the past, the village made housing out of publicly owned

land and sold them at low prices to attract young people back to town. the price was 17,000 u.s. dollars for a 120 square meter home with a living room, three bedrooms, a kitchen and a bathroom. the 60 homes they created sold out quickly. it didn't bring back the younger generation. they were only used as vacation homes when the owners visited once a year. the village's population has been shrinking every year. four years ago one man's visit triggered a change. the man saw a facility in the village near a stream and

negotiated to rent it out. he then called on carpenters to give a new future to the building which was on the verge of collapsing. that man was chen yudong, a painter who works mainly in beijing. he creates modern art using traditional chinese motivefmoti colors.

the ching dynasty had its own architectural style. he turned the old building which has been abandoned by the villagers into an art studio. when he held an exhibit in the revive ed building, people were stunned. the old home and new art work blended together beautifully. this prompted more people to come live in the village. sculptor xu rented an old elementary school building and turned it into his home and art studio. xu, who also makes statues for

museums and stores decorated parts of the garden with statues of village women working. an environment so remote and solitary is an ideal setting for artists. ink painter li. he rented a meeting space that included a cave house. soon other artists came to live in the village transforming neglected buildings into art work. the artists became the first new residents of these homes in decades and had a major impact on the locals.

every one began to look at hair hometown in a new light. xi takes walk every morning. in doing so, he's become good friends with the locals.

artists see these desolate areas as art work made by residents who have lived here for generations. in late november, communist party secretary finally got a business permit he had been waiting for.

the permit allows the village to develop residential land that couldn't be touched before. the use is limited to tourism but it's a big step forward for the small village.

the village has been calling on people to help redevelop it for the past two years. residential land couldn't be altered so they began developing publicly owned land and promoting tourism on it. villagers got hints from the artists who moved into town. locals reviewed and revived the culture and streets that their ancestors had cherished for centuries. known for its high quality water, the mainstay products were tofu and distilled liquor. xu volunteered to make statues that recreated the traditional village as authentically as possible. residents believed that the village that was near the stream will soon come back to life.

the roads once filled with weeds have been cleaned up by residents. abandoned homes were also renovated starting with the ones in better condition. men who had left town for work are slowly returning.

there are countless homes to rebuild. a large scale festival is scheduled for this summer. artists from all over china will

be invited to hold exhibits in various parts of the village. there will also be performances and live concerts. the artists dream is to eventually turn this into china's largest art village. he's working hard to make this happen. he's making the village produce into brand and creating new souvenirs to make enough new jobs to encourage young locals to return home for good. she decided to open a pottery workshop at the request of villagers. these rural women have never had any contact with artistic activity, but they have been using local soil for their

entire lives. the workshops will be held once a week. anyone can participate free of charge. hopes they will create something new.hopes they will create something new.ehopes they will something new. hopes they will something new. one day the soil may become the fuel for a mainstay industry here. he plans to stay here for the rest of his life.

little by little, tourists have begun visiting the village. with the help of residents, old and new, the village has started taking its first steps toward a bright future.

a very warm welcome to nhk "newsline" broadcasting to viewers around the globe. it is 10:00 a.m. in tokyo. i'm catherine kobayashi. we start with the latest development in the suspected assassination of a sibling of north korea's leader. south korean government officials say fingerprint checks prove that a man killed in malaysia on monday was the half-brother of kim jong-un. the officials told nhk that the malaysian government asked them to compare fingerprints taken from the body with those of kim jong-nam which they have on file. the officials confirmed that the prints match. kim jong-nam fell ill at kuala lumpur international airport and died while being taken to