An Investigation on the Characteristic Recognitions of Cultural Toursim “Characteristic Town” in China Taking Yangliuqing, Tianjin as a Case

DOI: 10.5176/2301-394X_ACE18.125

Authors: Bingqian Cheng, Yingxiang Niu and Tianjie Zhang

Abstract:

China is now experiencing the high tide of characteristic town construction under the new urbanization. My paper takes Yangliuqing, Tianjin’s Characteristic Town nominated in 2016, as a specific case, and investigates the characteristic recognitions by both local residents and common tourists, under the new target of promoting cultural tourism. Owing to over 600-year history and nationwide prestigious Lunar New Year Painting, Yangliuqing was nominated as a National Historical Cultural Town of China in early 2000s. A series of preservation plans were issued to conserve and revitalize its historical cultural heritage, both physical and unphysical. The implementation provided bases for today’s cultural tourism development. Via document studies, participatory questionnaires and in-deep interviews, the research unfolds characteristic recognitions and spatial distributions by both tourists and also local residents using GIS. The paper further identifies the advantages and problems, like unattractiveness of space, lack of tourists and poor market of local Lunar New Year paintings, and uncovers the reasons behind.

Keywords: China’s Characteristic Town; Yangliuqing; Cultural Toursim; Characteristic Recognitions