Impact of tourism on a cultural heritage place: the case of West Street (Xi Jie) in Yangshuo Town,Guangxi Province, China

Abstract

Tourism is not just an aggregate of merely commercial activities; it is also an ideological framing of history, nature and tradition which has the power to reshape culture and nature to its own needs (MacCannell, 1976). Since the reform and opening up, tourism has greatly expanded in mainland China over the past decades. The abundant cultural and historical attractions have become principal tourism resources and spurred the growth of a large heritage tourism industry. Cultural tourism attracts lots of attention from both the public and academics nowadays. However, tourism impacts on China’s cultural heritage places are as yet little understood. This dissertation would explore the tourism impacts on built heritage and local community with the case study of a historic site – West Street in Yangshuo County, Guangxi Province.

Tourism is not just an aggregate of merely commercial activities; it is also an ideological framing of history, nature and tradition which has the power to reshape culture and nature to its own needs (MacCannell, 1976). Since the reform and opening up, tourism has greatly expanded in mainland China over the past decades. The abundant cultural and historical attractions have become principal tourism resources and spurred the growth of a large heritage tourism industry. Cultural tourism attracts lots of attention from both the public and academics nowadays. However, tourism impacts on China’s cultural heritage places are as yet little understood. This dissertation would explore the tourism impacts on built heritage and local community with the case study of a historic site – West Street in Yangshuo County, Guangxi Province.