Page 67 - JCAU-7-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Creative heritage and experiential tourism

experiences (Cohen, 1988; Wang, 1999), offering consumers for unique experiences and differentiation. In this regard,
a “link with the past” (Chronis & Hampton, 2008). we follow Smith (2016, as quoted in Carvalho et al., 2019,
These experiences set through the transformation and p12), who emphasizes this spatial aspect. Accordingly,
refurbishment of the urban landscape is not meaningless. historic landscapes with acknowledged and identifiable
The aim is to attract the mobile middle class, students, and heritage dimensions offer plenty of opportunities to
other demographic groups, reinforcing connections to establish the framework and policies for creative tourism
the tourism economy and consumption (Guinand, 2015). while simultaneously becoming objects of commodification
Economists Edward Glaeser, Jed Kolko, and Albert Saiz (Zukin, 1996).
have, for instance, shown that cities with high levels of Different registers of heritage adaptation to the
consumption tend to experience greater economic success creativity paradigm approaches can be identified. Some
than those centered primarily on production (Glaeser projects located in former industrial areas exemplify the
et al., 2001). They therefore emphasize the crucial role of transformation of urban sites into creative industry hubs.
amenities in urban planning.
For instance, Fossa and Milan (2014) examines the case of
In the case of Tianjing’s former concessions, an Porta Genova in Milan, Italy, where the fashion industry
analysis of the imaginaries and practices of both local and has repurposed former industrial buildings – such as the
national visitors suggests that their creative redevelopment Armani house in a former Nestlé factory – generating a
fosters novel urban experiences. The former concessions, new dynamic in the neighborhood.
characterized by their “exotic” architecture, increasingly
serve as stages for emerging urban practices (Lu et al., Creativity also manifests in the capacity to transform
2016), including leisure shopping, immersive heritage historic landscapes into spaces to be experienced, visited,
visits, and the consumption of Western food and drinks in and enjoyed. A typical example of these projects is the
fancy cafés and restaurants, or “wanghong” (网红; internet- redevelopment of former United States port areas into
famous) destinations (Zhang et al., 2022). themed leisure waterfronts (Boyer, 1994; Gravari-Barbas,
1998; Guinand, 2022), where former factories, warehouses,
2.1.2. Creative uses of heritage as a stage for tourism and port infrastructure have been converted into “festival
In his seminal book The Rise of the Creative Class and How marketplaces” – spaces entirely dedicated to leisure
It is Transforming Work, Leisure, Community, and Everyday tourism. Frequently, these new leisure functions are housed
Life, Florida (2004; 2005) showed how cities that perform in entirely newly built buildings that freely imitate historic
best are those that attract and effectively “nurture” their architecture. These pastiche buildings create eclectic and
creative class . Florida’s work has had a significant influence thematic environments catering to the new postmodern
4
on urban public policies and has contributed to the concept and post-industrial economy. These restored, refurbished,
of mobile urbanism (McCann & Ward, 2011). Every Western rebuilt, or reinvented historic spaces present an idealized,
city has been eager to boost its creative industries, thereby nostalgic past.
celebrating its culture, arts, and diversity. As Richards (2011,
p. 1227) notices: “The creative turn has affected tourism According to Thompson and Tambyah (1999, p.236,
in a number of ways. As well as increased creative content as quoted in Canavan and MacCamley, 2021, p.103185),
being integrated into tourism products, tourism has itself “postmodernity is a cultural epoch that celebrates the
become a creative arena for the development of skills and pleasures and freedoms offered by simulacra, hyperrealism,
performance.” While creative tourism has been the subject aesthetic pastiches, and bricolage identities, against
of different approaches and has evolved over the years modernist ideals of originality and purity of form.” This
(Carvalho et al., 2019), we follow Richards’ (2011, p.1237) postmodernist approach also gives rise to another type of
view that creative tourism represents an escape from mass creative projects – one characterized by “creative destruction”
cultural tourism, offering more flexible and “authentic” (Harvey, 2007), which is typical of neoliberal economic
experiences that can be co-created between host and tourist. contexts and strategies. In this case, architectural heritage,
Creative tourism also stresses the critical importance of or parts of it, is dismantled, transformed, or demolished to
place, presenting “creative” dimensions that offer potential pave the way for a new type of object or project presented as
innovative.
4 According to Richard Florida, the creative class represents
human capital, which is itself creative capital. This highly 2.1.3. Conserve, restore, rebuild, reinvent heritage:
heterogeneous ‘class’ includes artists (writers, musicians, Heritage interventions in the age of experience
directors, etc.), scientists and senior business executives. The
city needs to work on its attributes in order to attract these One might imagine that established doctrines of heritage
populations and enhance this creative capital. restoration and conservation, such as the Venice

Volume 7 Issue 3 (2025) 3 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3703