Abstract for: Exploring Sustainable Policies for Xidi, the World Heritage Village

The preservation of the historical town xidi is under debates. There are many different perspectives on how to conserve the historical towns by using tourism as a policy tool, from strict conservation policy to remain authenticity, to tourism growth development policy and the community development orientated policy. This study attempts to develop a holistic a system dynamics model to analyze the interaction of the social – economic – heritage sectors to examine policies to achieve the goal of development and conservation. The study shows that conservation alone cannot lead to its own goal. Economic development strategies could be a better choice if the development is careful planned and effectively controlled to avoid over consuming resources.