One of the legacies of the time honored agricultural development in China has been varied farming practices that adapt well to different natural conditions. These old but still functioning farming systems continue to inspire us to find solutions to various environmental problems caused by so-called modern agriculture. This paper reviewed the studies on agricultural heritage in China, including two categories： document-based researches and practice-oriented researches on dynamic conservation and adaptive management of these traditional agricultural heritages. Studies on the history and archaeological findings about the Chinese traditional agricultural heritage have laid a solid foundation for any further study. Dynamic conservation and adaptive management of agricultural heritage was promoted by the Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS） project initiated by FAO in 2002. Until now, researches on the conservation and adaptive management of agricultural heritages have touched on many aspects of the issue, including theoretical consideration of agricultural heritage, agrobiodiversity characteristics of agricultural heritage, multi-values of agricultural heritage dynamic conservation, substitutive industries, legislation and institutionalization for the conservation of agricultural heritage. We conclude the paper with an agenda for future studies on agricultural heritages, including the broadening of the research scope, innovative research methodologies and methods and the development of strategies that combine conservation and utilization of agricultural heritages.
Agricultural heritage is an important type of world heritage. The special features of this kind of heritage are that they are “living” or “real life” systems, in both the ecosystem and in the cultural sense. So, agricultural heritage needs to be conserved in a special way. In a well-reasoned approach to dynamic conservation of agricultural heritage, careful development of heritage sites can realize greater sustainability of the traditional agriculture by considering both conservation and development though tourism. This paper examines the Global Important Agricultural Heritage Systems （GIAHS） as designated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations （FAO） and listed by United Nations Educational, Scientiifc and Cultural Organization （UNESCO） as agricultural heritages sites. Currently, the research in China focuses on tourism resources evaluation and development, production design and marketing, tourism perception and the impacts of tourism development and so forth. There is less emphasis on research about benefit sharing of heritage tourism evolution mechanisms, environmental impacts of agricultural heritage tourism and study methods which should be analyzed in-depth, so as to iluminate the theories and practices of development in a living landscape.
