| Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha) |
FUJIKI Yosuke Kyoto Saga University of Arts, Department of Tourism Design, Lecturer, 芸術学部, 専任講師 (70314557)
HIRATA Takayuki Wakayama University, Faculty of System Engineering, assistant, システム工学部, 助手 (60362860)
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| Research Abstract |
This study attempted to clarify the issues facing the tourist industry at the Old Town of Lijiang, Yunnan Province, China, a World Heritage Site. The ways in which both the existing indigenous society (a minority known as the Naxis) and the majority peoples, temporary residents, engage in commercial tourism-related activities were examined. As a result, it was found that, in recent years, the usage of historic buildings has drastically changed. At present, over 90% of shops are tourist-oriented souvenir shops and restaurants. Furthermore, over 50% of shopkeepers are temporary residents, mainly Han Chinese, with a large majority renting rooms from indigenous owners. These findings suggest that the location of the residences of the indigenous minority and its culture are rapidly changing as tourism develops.
The authors categorize the development approach of cultural heritage tourism into two patterns. One is the "outside-in" approach, which means to dominantly satisfy the tourists' needs while sacrificing the local cultural character. The other approach is the "inside-out" approach, which means that the local community follows its own growth principle, and tourists come in mostly to enjoy and to learn from the local wisdom. We examine the two approaches by taking the current status of protected buildings in Lijiang city as a case study. In this famous Chinese world heritage city, some 140 important vernacular buildings face serious pressure of tourism oriented transformation both in form and in usage. We investigate the buildings and find they have changed their usage dramatically, accompanied with relevant changes in form, layout, and decoration styles. We further review the policy system and find that these changes in vernacular buildings are due to lack of proper standing in conservation policy system, lack of sufficient financial aid, and lack of full technical support.
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