Localized Interpretation of Urban Landscapes and Their Tourist Significance

Author: Li Xiaobo, Chen Xibo
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-07-01
Features: Urban tourism research covers a very broad field and can be deeply explored from various perspectives such as geography, history, architecture, ecology, economics, and sociology. This book collects some of the academic papers published by the authors in the past five years, basically forming three sequences: localized interpretation of urban landscapes, urban context and tourism development, and landscape interpretation and cultural tourism. Nature is the foundation of cities, the economy is their base, and culture is their soul. Chinese cities have evolved over thousands of years, forming unique cultural landscapes through the process of "successive occupation." The author believes that urban tourism must be based on historical context, recognizing a city's unique position and planning philosophy in the long course of history. At the same time, the development of ancient Chinese cities contains unique cultural genes, and when interpreting them, their value should be understood from the perspective of Chinese local culture. Only with a thorough understanding can the temporal and spatial profile from ancient times to the present be revealed, and the pulse of urban tourism can be demonstrated.
For the study of ancient Chinese cities, the author constructs a research framework for planning thought based on a historical profile (showing inheritance and transformation in urban development), two perspectives (cultural concepts and functional needs, power discourse and folk discourse), and three levels (material, institutional, and spiritual cultural levels; natural, economic, and cultural development levels; and mountain and river topography, urban layout, and architectural characteristics in spatial levels). Case studies of typical cities are also conducted. Works such as From Astronomy to Humanity: The Evolution of Planning Thought in Chang'an City during the Han and Tang Dynasties, The Mysterious Folk Discourse: A Human Geography Perspective on Ancient Chinese Feng Shui Models, Following the Heavens and Emulating the Earth: Astronomical Thought in Ancient Chinese Urban Planning, The Soul of the City: Bionics in Ancient Chinese Urban Planning, and The Space of Imperial Power: A Study of the Qing Dynasty's Fulling Town in Hangzhou all aim to highlight unique Chinese local discourse.
The book also makes new explorations in the study of urban historical geography. For a long time, research on the origins of settlements and urban changes in the upper reaches of the Yangtze River has primarily focused on climate, terrain, transportation, and agriculture. The author takes a different approach, interpreting the "civilizational salt language" of ancient towns in the Three Gorges region, the emotional significance of towns along the Great Wall beyond military purposes as the homeland of the Chinese nation, and the transformation of imperial authority into various forms of imperial space. While highlighting local discourse, the book also interprets Chinese urban world heritage sites from an intercultural perspective.
From the perspective of urban genesis, urban tourism planning must be based on the evolution of urban context, otherwise it may lead to cultural misinterpretation and deviations in tourism development strategies. Currently, many urban tourism plans are detached from the city itself, lacking clarity about "what is," and arbitrarily or hyping some superficial concepts, which have had a negative impact on urban tourism. For example, the deviation in Chengdu's "Oriental Eden" image positioning, the neglect of local culture in Kunming's World Expo Park, the superficial understanding of Feng Shui culture in Langzhong Ancient Town, the transformation from the "Bifengxia Model" to the "Bifengxia Dilemma," and Sichuan's repeated loss of tourism brands such as Shangri-La and Lugu Lake after losing the historical and cultural city tourism brand on the "Tea Horse Road" along the Sichuan-Tibetan border—all of which warrant reflection.
The second part of the book, Urban Context and Tourism Development, analyzes the above issues and proposes the author's views on the interpretation and tourism development of Beijing, Kunming, Chengdu, the Three Gorges cultural route, handicraft heritage sites, and Chinese world heritage landscapes, combined with planning cases.
As researchers of tourism, we are also tourists, and the process of investigation is also a journey. In A Journey of Virtue and the Path of the Heart, we reflect on the spiritual realms of "perfection" and "great beauty in silence" of the sages. In Marco Polo's Eastward Journey and Changzhen's Westward Journey, we experience the differences in personal emotions of travelers in the context of Eastern and Western cultures. From Records, Odes, and Travelogues of the Three Gorges Region during the Tang and Song Dynasties, we explore the evolution of historical tourism landscapes and feel the significance of Chinese world heritage landscapes from an intercultural perspective in classic scenic spots.
Traveling through the sea of knowledge, we are on a journey. What is written during the journey is not only the results of tourism research but also a love for it. At the same time, during my days at Peking University, my friend Xibo and I explored ancient sites in Beijing, and our investigations in Shandong, Yunnan, Hebei, and the Three Gorges region have yielded rich rewards. This book is also a testament to our friendship, and it also includes parts of the master's thesis I supervised, Cao Dan.