In the context of ideological changes in heritage conservation globally and in the face of the impact from cultural globalization and urbanization, traditional village as a new heritage term is proposed in China. It is nominated based on Chinese heritage characteristics and with the goal of revitalizing Chinese culture and great national rejuvenation. According to the heritage attributes, the living conservation of a traditional village should be to identify, understand and manage this dynamic process of cultural evolution from the time dimension. A heritage community is the main body that practices the living expression. Based on a review of the shift on authenticity and community in global heritage ideology, and discussions of the characteristics of traditional village as heritage, the role of community in current conservation practices is analysed, and the significance and suggestions on community engagement are explored in this paper. This paper argues that:the dynamic change or development of villages is an expression of the living state. Community engagement and community-led are initiative to respect the natural living state of those villages. Ensuring the participation and discourse of local communities in conservation, changing the participation of heritage communities from ‘formal’ to ‘substantive’, and transforming the idea of ‘external blood transfusion’ to ‘internal blood production’ for responsible guarding to stimulate the endogenous power for conservation, are the fundamental steps to achieving living conservation to Chinese traditional villages.