The Revitalization of Chengdu’s Cultural Heritage from the Cultural Creativity Perspective: Value for Engagement and Barriers

Abstract

Since the 21st century, cultural creativity has become a prominent way to revitalize cultural heritage such as historical buildings and historical landscapes. However, many current practices are dominated by the government, and the factors affecting individual willingness to participate are still unclear. In this study, 28 respondents (16 men, 12 women) were recruited in Chengdu, China, through semi-structured interviews, and the interview data were qualitatively evaluated using thematic analysis. The results show that the influencing factors mainly include six themes: “inclusion of creative environment”, “economic investment risk”, “potential development space”, “information access channels”, “uncertainty of the creative product quality”, and “creation level.” The findings will have important implications for the protection and development of current and future cultural heritage and strengthen the construction of creative cities in specific cultural heritage contexts.