Page 47 - JCAU-7-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Top-down rural heritage

economy” associated with the Kangwang Festival (Figure 9). received as a component of Dongguan’s Tangwei village
This activity represents a direct means for villagers to revitalization strategy, the Shipai Town Government has
engage and benefit from the revitalization efforts, aligning introduced a new top-down revitalization and utilization
with the overarching goal of the Hundred-Thousand- plan. This initiative involves partnering with a tourism
Ten Thousand Project, which aims to enhance living and company from Beijing to transform the village’s historical
employment conditions in rural areas (Figure 10). At this buildings into boutique inn courtyards. The goal is to
juncture, while the artists’ studios have been positively boost the village’s income and generate economic benefits
for the entire community. The announcement highlights
plans to develop “national trendy boutique inns” and “a
comprehensive cultural tourism industry that integrates
trendy industrial culture with the nearby trendy toy center.”
Throughout the investigation, villagers and artists
consistently emphasized how converting ancestral halls
into studios has fostered a vibrant cultural atmosphere.
Many expressed satisfaction in being able to experience
the joy of continuing an almost original village life within
Tangwei village. However, during a banquet hosted by
town government officials for the research team and
a group of students conducting field investigations, a
late-arriving official shared news about the provincial
government’s pending approval of a plan to establish inns
in the village.
Figure 8. A corner of the Porcelain Garden. Source: Photo by the authors This revelation underscores a critical dynamics: while
(2024) the introduction of art and cultural symbols fosters cultural
revitalization, the top-down “revitalization and utilization”
approach remains anchored in the pursuit of business
opportunities and economic maximization (Looney, 2015).

This article examines the heritage preservation and
conservation strategies employed in Tangwei village,
Dongguan, Guangdong, China, focusing on the complex
dynamics between top-down government initiatives
and the local community’s authentic cultural heritage.
The findings reveal that local government and village
representatives strategically utilize cultural symbols and
intangible heritage practices, such as the Kangwang
Figure 9. Food stalls outside Tangwei village. Source: Photo by the Festival and the artist residency program, to showcase
authors (2024) the village’s historical and cultural significance. However,
these initiatives are often disconnected from the local
community’s authentic traditions and are primarily driven
by economic and tourism development goals.
The case of Tangwei village demonstrates how the
reorganization of daily village functions through top-
down revitalization initiatives can potentially overshadow
the preservation of authentic cultural heritage. While
the introduction of artists’ studios and the promotion of
cultural tourism have brought attention to the village’s
heritage, the ultimate pursuit of business opportunities
and economic maximization by higher-level government
Figure 10. Banner promoting the Hundred-Thousand-Ten Thousand actors risks eroding the community’s genuine connection
Project in Shipai. Source: Photo by the authors (2024) to its past.

Volume 7 Issue 3 (2025) 10 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.5029