Traditional villages embody the wisdom of agricultural civilization, carry the nostalgic memories of millions of people, and are an important foundation for promoting rural cultural revitalization and building modern civilization of the Chinese nation. After years of practice, the protection of traditional villages in China has entered a new stage of systematic promotion and overall protection from scattered rescue. 8155 villages across the country have been included in the national protection list, and many beneficial paths have been explored in various regions. However, it should also be soberly recognized that protection work still faces deep-seated problems such as insufficient governance coordination, vague property rights definition, and weak subject vitality. Some places have the phenomenon of "heavy declaration, light management" and "heavy development, light protection", or are trapped in the dilemma of "frozen preservation", or due to excessive commercialization, the essence of rural areas is dissolved. The Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China proposed "reform and innovation as the fundamental driving force", which pointed out the direction and provided fundamental guidance for the protection and development of traditional villages. Institutional innovation needs to strengthen overall coordination and collaboration. The protection of traditional villages involves multiple departments such as planning, housing and construction, culture and tourism, and natural resources. The division of responsibilities and the intersection of rights and responsibilities can easily lead to the "Nine Dragon Water Control" and restrict the effectiveness of protection. For example, Nanping, Fujian Province has established a traditional village protection handover system, which includes the responsibility for protection in the list of cadres' performance, achieving "taking responsibility while in office, handing responsibility when leaving office, and holding accountable for dereliction of duty" to ensure the continuity of work; Yunnan has established a full chain system of "planning and control, graded protection, and dynamic supervision" by introducing provincial-level protection measures, and incorporating protection requirements into the "one map" of national spatial planning for supervision and implementation. Practice has proven that only by clarifying the rights and responsibilities of all levels through institutional design, establishing a coordinated and efficient mechanism, can we consolidate the protection force and enhance the systematicity and integrity of work. Institutional innovation requires deepening property rights reform. Clear property rights are the prerequisite for rational allocation of resources, and also the key to solving the dilemma of "no funds for protection and no path for development". For example, Songyang, Zhejiang has established a rural property rights trading platform, innovated the traditional model of building use rights transfer, and attracted social capital participation through policies such as repair subsidies and technical guidance, while adhering to the principle of maintaining collective ownership, to revitalize idle ancient houses; Yixian County, Anhui Province has formulated a management method for the transfer of ancient residential property rights, established a benefit sharing mechanism of "property owners+operators+village collectives", and achieved a win-win situation of protection and appreciation. The innovation of property rights system not only breaks the bottleneck of funds, but also transforms dormant cultural resources into high-quality assets for rural development, building a virtuous cycle of "protection utilization appreciation". Institutional innovation should highlight the subjectivity of villagers. Villagers are the creators, guardians, and direct beneficiaries of traditional villages, and their level of participation directly determines the sustainability of conservation work. To protect traditional villages, we must adhere to the principles of "protecting for the people, protecting relying on the people, and protecting the fruits shared by the people". For example, Yongding in Fujian has innovated the "government guidance+village level leadership+enterprise operation+village benefit" joint venture model, allowing villagers to obtain multiple benefits such as rent, stock capital, and salary in tourism development, resulting in significant growth of the village collective economy; A village council has been established in Longhu Ancient Village, Chaozhou, Guangdong, allowing villagers to fully participate in key aspects such as planning and project implementation, ensuring that protection work meets the needs of people's livelihood. At the same time, it is necessary to strengthen skills training and cultural guidance, cultivate a team of rural craftsmen, enhance villagers' awareness of protection and participation ability, promote villagers to transform from "bystanders" to "participants" and "beneficiaries", and make traditional villages always full of vitality. Institutional innovation should promote integration and empowerment. The core of traditional village protection is dynamic inheritance, which not only preserves the cultural roots but also adapts to the needs of modern life. We must adhere to the principle of "protection first, rational utilization" and promote the deep integration of traditional villages with industries such as cultural tourism and ecological agriculture. For example, Yuanjia Village in Shaanxi Province uses traditional dwellings as a carrier to create a folk experience block, allowing food culture and traditional handicrafts to be inherited in business operations; Pingnan County in Fujian Province attracts young people to return and awakens the cultural vitality of ancient villages by introducing artistic creation formats. In addition, it is necessary to strengthen technological empowerment, establish digital archives through technologies such as 3D scanning and virtual reality, achieve precise protection, dynamic supervision, and panoramic display, and widely spread the charm of traditional village culture in the digital age. By designing systems to standardize development boundaries, eliminating excessive commercialization and homogenization, preserving the authenticity of local culture, and achieving the organic unity of cultural and economic values. The protection of traditional villages is a systematic project that concerns cultural heritage, nostalgia, and rural revitalization. Through institutional innovation, we can solve development problems and build a long-term pattern of "government guidance, social participation, village participation, and technological empowerment". This can not only preserve the "old flavor" of traditional villages, but also revitalize them with "new vitality". Only through long-term efforts and continuous promotion of institutional improvement and innovative practices can traditional villages truly become spiritual homes that carry nostalgic memories and demonstrate cultural confidence. (New Society)