Page 69 - JCAU-7-3

Journal of Chinese
Architecture and Urbanism Creative heritage and experiential tourism

ways by which creative tourists acquire new knowledge of Chinese urban cultural tourism, urban heritage is now
about local cultures and engage with destinations. Moreover, protected and exploited as a tourist resource. Since the
the two scholars note that visitors show significant interest 1990s, the protection and requalification of historic centers
in the purchase of local products and consuming regional to be valorized as tourist areas have tended to become the
cuisine. Thus, handicrafts, homemade food, and original most important renovation strategy in Chinese cities (Liu
creations play an important role in creative tourism within & Liu, 2010).
the Chinese context (Qiang & Kovacs, 2021a), as observed For Chinese cities with an abundance of Western
in our study of Tianjin. In this sense, the creative tourism heritage, the redevelopment incentive of former
approach relates to the one observed by Tan et al. (2013) colonized territories into recreational centers can be
in Taiwan, in which creative tourism is seen as part of traced to the Xintiandi district in Shanghai. In this case,
the cultural and creative industries focusing on everyday the original Shikumen community within the former
8
activities and aiming to attract tourists rather than seeing French Concession was extensively transformed into a
creativity in purely artistic terms. comprehensive commercial, catering, entertainment, and

Moreover, local authorities in China play a key role in tourism area. The remarkable success of Xintiandi district
these creative developments. Several projects in different (Figure 1) led to its replication in numerous other major
Chinese cities show that local authorities serve as key cities across China (Tsai, 2008).
decision-makers (Zielke & Waibel, 2014). They possess In this context, and after several decades of relative
the authority to promulgate regulations for heritage site oblivion, the former concessions have attracted the
preservation, establish legislative frameworks, modify attention of local governments in several Chinese
land-use rights, and act as investors and developers. In this cities. This heritage rediscovery marks a notable change
way, they regulate and promote creative spaces. The strong against the dominant narratives depicting a “century of
involvement of the local state in almost all aspects leads humiliation” (Chauffert-Yvart et al., 2020). The former
to the conclusion that creative spaces in China could be concessions “joined the mainstream of local urban history”
appropriately labeled as spaces of “controlled creativity.” (Bickers, 2013, p. 194) and became important sites in the
9
Notably, “the national government recognized the value heritage economy, aiming to capitalize on the country’s
of creative industries and spaces only after successful
experiments at the local level.” 7 growing tourism market, as the discourse excerpt from one
of our interviews underlines:
2.2. Built heritage of the Tianjin concessions: Our understanding of Western heritage has gradually
Approaches to conservation and restoration evolved. Before, it was a sign of humiliation. Now,
2.2.1. Heritage protection policies in Tianjin 8 Shikumen is a traditional Shanghainese architectural style
Since the early 1990s, economic development in China has that blends Western and Chinese elements and first appeared
in the 1860s.
been decentralized, shifting responsibilities to provincial, 9 Translated by the authors.
municipal, and local governments. Cities have taken
charge of their own economic development (Henriot,
2015), and local governments have taken the lead in
real estate and tourism projects. This means that local
instances are present as both co-owners and regulators
(Nyíri, 2009; Oakes, 1998). Since the 1980s, China’s central
government has recognized the important role of heritage
in nation-building and economic development (Nyíri,
2006), reviewing and adjusting policies stemming from the
Cultural Revolution (1966 – 1976).
Chinese cities are thus making an effort to choose and
promote the unique image of the city. Often, especially in
cities marked by a strong historical background and unique
cultural identity (e.g., historic cities, minority cities, and
formerly colonized cities), the rehabilitation of old centers
consists of superimposing heritage pastiches onto existing
elements linked to local culture. With the development Figure 1. The heritage buildings of the former concession district of
Xintiandi, Shanghai, China, repurposed for leisure and tourism functions
7 Zielke et Waibel, 2014, p.106, translated by the authors. Source: Photo by Gravari-Barbas (2024).

Volume 7 Issue 3 (2025) 5 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcau.3703