Page 124 - JCAU-7-2

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Heritage tourism: Personal and collective factors

Figure 2. Location of the Ming Tombs scenic area, Beijing, China. Source: Left: Map obtained from the National Platform for Common Geospatial
Information Services of China; Right: Google Maps.

Over the centuries, the descendants of these original on Taylor’s (2004) classification, examining residents’
mausoleum custodians have flourished, leading to the perspectives on the cultural, economic, and social
emergence of mausoleum villages in the surrounding significance of the heritage.
area. These settlements, frequently named in honor of the (ii). Residents’ emotional responses to the heritage sites:
corresponding tombs – such as Deling village, Yongling Emotional responses were assessed using three
village, Zhaoling village, Xianling village, and Changling criteria (Ganji et al., 2021), i.e., attachment to the local
village – stand as enduring reminders of this historical community, pride in cultural heritage, and a sense of
legacy. An analysis of current village demographics reveals responsibility for preservation.
that the descendants of the original mausoleum custodians (iii). Community embeddedness of residents: This
continue to constitute a substantial portion of the local component was measured using four items informed
population. Today, these villages have embraced tourism by Wang et al.’s (2024) study, addressing cognitive,
development initiatives, demonstrating their ability to relational, structural, and institutional dimensions of
adapt while preserving their historical and cultural heritage. embeddedness.
(iv). Residents’ behavioral intentions to engage in heritage
3.2. Variable measurement tourism: Behavioral intentions were assessed with four

A survey was conducted to evaluate residents’ awareness and items adapted from Shen & Shen (2021), focusing on
emotional attachment to their heritage, the level of community resident’s support for and willingness to participate in
embeddedness, and their views on tourism development. The tourism development initiatives.
questionnaire comprised two main sections. Responses were recorded on a five-point Likert scale
The first section gathered basic sociodemographic ranging from 1 = “strongly disagree” to 5 = “strongly agree.”
information, including gender, age, educational This methodological approach provides a thorough
qualifications, involvement in the tourism sector, personal assessment of the diverse aspects affecting residents’
monthly income, primary income source, residency status, attitudes and behaviors toward heritage tourism
and lineage to the original mausoleum custodians. development in the Ming Tombs scenic area.
The second section addressed four key components that
are aligned with the study’s conceptual model (Table 1): 3.3. Data collection and analysis procedure
(i). Residents’ perceptions of heritage value: This In late September 2019, a preliminary field survey was
component was evaluated using three items based conducted in the vicinity of the Ming Tombs scenic area.

Volume 7 Issue 2 (2025) 6 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.5739