Conducting Heritage Tourism-Led Urban Renewal in Historic Urban Spaces: A Case Study of Datong, China

Abstract

To boost the local fiscal revenue through capital investment promotion, urban renewal/regeneration led by heritage tourism has become a critical way of creating the city brand, designing tourism destinations, and attracting property developers and investors to cities. However, current practices lack proper understanding and consideration in preserving and interpreting the authentic identity in urban China in recent times. This has led to simply copying and pasting historical forms and urban spaces, thus resulting in an identity crisis due to the reproducibility of tangible heritage – physical form, architectural style, superficial living style, etc. Against this backdrop, this research explores the involvement of both tangible and intangible heritage rooted in historical Chinese cities which are undergoing heritage tourism-led urban regeneration. It also attempts to understand the influences of authentic intangible heritage – social activities, cultural events, collective memories and others – in designing and shaping urban spaces to preserve and reconstruct the place identity. To achieve these aims, a conceptual framework based on the relevant concepts relating to historical heritage and culture-led urban regeneration was developed to lead the research. Moreover, this research will examine and assess concepts and themes developed from the conceptual framework by employing qualitative research methods (including semi-structured interviews, on-site observation and photography, and analysis of relevant planning and designing schemes) in the case study of heritage tourism-led urban renewal in the old town of city Datong, China. A new conceptual framework was then developed in this research, contributing to the field of urban regeneration and place identity in both theoretical and practical aspects. The developing process of the conceptual framework and its findings help to provide a theoretical way of exploring the manifestation of local history and cultural resources in preserving and reconstructing the place identity of the Chinese historical urban context undergoing heritage tourism-led urban regeneration.