Chaozhi Zhang

Red tourism: sustaining communist identity in a rapidly changing China.

‘Red tourism’ is to exploit the historical heritage of the Chinese Communist Party for tourism development. Such tourism practice has been used by the nation state of China both to drive the countrys economic growth and develop new patronage of the communist ideology among the young generation. From the broader context of Chinas economic and social changes since 1978 when the country started its open-door policy and economic reform, our paper attempts to examine ‘red tourism’ by analyzing how the nation state of China promotes the communist heritage through ‘red tourism’ in order to sustain the communist identity in a rapidly changing China. Research questions are raised to address the economic and social factors for the nation state involvement in ‘red tourism’: the specific roles of such involvement and the outcomes. Based on a case study, this paper presents how heritage is interpreted at a specific ‘red tourism’ site in order to portray a selective part of the communist heritage as a symbol of the Chinese nation. In so doing, ‘red tourism’ aims to serve the purpose of the nation state to sustain the communist identity in the continuing effort of developing a ‘socialist country of Chinese characteristics’.

Heritage and tourism conflict within world heritage sites in China: a longitudinal study

Although the conflicting relationship between heritage and tourism has been debated at length in the Western academic literature, interest in the relationship is now becoming increasingly pronounced across the developing world with particular interest noted in China. To examine this phenomenon further, this study explores the cause and temporal variation of conflicts between heritage and tourism over the past decade in China. Content analysis was adopted as the most appropriate methodology for the study with data from online media reports serving as the primary data for the analysis of the occurrence of heritage and tourism conflicts in China. The findings highlight antiquated management structures, inappropriate tourism operations, and the ineffective use or deficiency of legislation as the primary causes of heritage and tourism conflicts in China with the categories of conflicts varying from clashes relating to resource use to clashes over values. The findings also shed light on the significant role played by the media in the resolution of conflicts. Finally, implications and limitations of the studys findings are discussed.

Destination development in China: towards an effective model of explanation

This paper addresses the dynamics of the evolution of a nature-based destination in China. Based on longitudinal studies in Zhangjiajie (Hunan Province), it focuses on the roles of institutions in tourism development in China, demonstrating the centrality of institutions and governments in fostering destination development through policy orientations, attracting investments and regulations in their capacity as producers, protectors and promoters of desired processes of change. It describes a five-stage development process from Exploration, through Starting and via Fluctuation and Acceleration to the current stage of Transition leading towards a Destination seeking Better Service Quality. The study, by incorporating institutions as a driving force, develops an RICI model (Resource, Institution, Capital and Innovation) accounting for destination development in China. The key role of policies implemented by local governments and the roles of institutions are critical in the process of its development, especially in the earlier stages, contrasting with many western countries, where the private sector and central government tend to dominate. The paper notes the role of inter-institution rivalries, and the impact of those rivalries on sustainable development. It is suggested that the proposed model could be empirically verified and tested in other cultural or regional destination development contexts.

Impact of culture on perceptions of landscape names

This study examines the impact of culture on landscape-name perceptions of tourists from China, United States, and Europe utilizing both Hofstedes and Halls cultural typologies. Data for this study were collected from visitors to two national parks in China. Culture is found to have a significant impact on both sub-dimensions of understanding (legibility and coherence) and involvement (mystery and diversity). Findings suggest that tourists from different cultures are likely to interpret landscape names differently. Those from cultures with a high power distance and low individualism would prefer landscape names that are mystical, dreamy, fictive, ingenious, original, and poetic, while those from cultures with a lower power distance and high individualism would prefer names that simply describe the landscape.

Tourism geography research in China: institutional perspectives on community tourism development

The explosive growth of tourism in China since the 1980s has generated attendant interest in tourism research in the country, among researchers both in the mainland and outside. The dialogue between the two communities (domestic and international researchers) is also growing, but is as yet still limited, with insufficient contributions from Chinese mainland tourism researchers to the international academic world. China provides a rich field for examining the cultural, social and institutional context in which tourism develops. Recent studies of village-based community tourism development in China, with an emphasis on institutional perspectives, provide some insight on the dynamic and complex changes of rural communities along with tourism development. In general, these papers show that village participation in decision making is growing, although examples of disempowerment are as rife as those of growing empowerment. Contested resources are one of the most influential factors in this struggle, along with the rapid growth of tourism that the country has experienced since the 1980s. The papers in this special collection also demonstrate the distinct character of domestic tourism research in China, which engages the rich body of literature published in Chinese, but is generally less connected to broader international debates in the predominantly Anglo-American English publishing realm.

Chinese tourists' views of nature and natural landscape interpretation: a generational perspective

ABSTRACT This study investigates Chinese tourists’ views of nature, interest in animal experiences and their preferred natural landscape interpretation content from a generational perspective. Eight hundred and eight self-administered questionnaires were collected at Wulingyuan, a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, in China. It suggests that overall Chinese traditional cultural values and beliefs, notably the thinking of tian ren he yi (oneness of nature with humans), still have considerable impacts on Chinese tourists. They were found to have a strong sense of connection with nature and a preference for cultural interpretations of natural landscapes. Meanwhile, Chinese might be reaching a point of convergence in terms of attitude towards nature and animals with their Western counterparts, as reflected by their weak anthropocentric view, and strong ethical and aesthetic appreciation of animals, regardless of generation cohorts. Yet, the study shows significant generational gaps: older generations have a stronger connection with nature, are more concerned about environmental issues and show more support for the Western approach towards nature protection; the younger generations hold weaker anthropocentrism, and are more interested in animals, yet are less likely to learn about nature through tourism interpretation.