Cultural Heritage Of City Research Articles

Peking Duck as a museum spectacle: staging local heritage for Olympic tourism

In 1991, Beijing began a campaign of urban renewal that culminated in the opportunity to host the 2008 Olympic Summer Games. From 2001 to 2008, the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee engaged in initiatives to showcase to a worldwide audience ‘New Beijing, Great Olympics’ (xin Beijing, xin aoyun). Dovetailing with New Beijing's modernizing plans was another discourse of preserving ‘Old Beijing’ (lao Beijing) that made international headlines as centuries-old buildings were demolished or hastily remade into tourist attractions before 2008. However, one point of common ground for both the Olympic organizers and the Old City advocates was a provision in the Olympic cultural program that called for a network of new museums to cooperate with the municipal government and contribute to an Olympic legacy of sustainable economic development focused on heritage tourism. Over the next seven years, the city's Cultural Heritage Administration received enormous support from the national government, and funding for museum work in Beijing quadrupled. Regulations drafted in 2001 allowed private and corporate museums to contribute to the city's museum network in unprecedented ways. Drawing on fieldwork conducted in Beijing 2007–2009, I describe how the Beijing Olympics served as a catalyst at two of the city's restaurants for developing corporate-sponsored ‘small-scale, special-purpose’ museums to showcase Beijing's best known culinary dish, Peking Duck. Both Quanjude and Bianyifang Roast Duck restaurants claim primacy in serving authentic roast duck, and the rivalry of these two ‘well-known brand names’ (laozihao) came to a head as both competed for a place on the 2008 National List of Intangible Heritage. The research highlights the current dynamics of state–society relations in China, the changing nature of Chinese museum practices, and general political questions in defining and preserving authentic national cultural heritage for tourist consumption.

Out of the Soviet Union: the re-emergence of Rīga as a tourist capital

This study explores the development of tourism in Rīga, the capital city of Latvia, a country that was once part of the Soviet Union. An in-depth investigation of the diverse interpretations of the city's cultural heritage, and of the influence of political and ideological propaganda during the periods of, and immediately after, the Soviet era, has resulted in the identification of several different types of tourist attraction and of the involvement of various ideological symbols in tourist attractions. An analysis showed that tourism has enjoyed rapid development over the last decade and has also been reflecting the tendencies and influences of global processes. It was also found that the city's Soviet heritage did not form part of the tourism product at the beginning of the period of transition. Rīga's multi-ethnic character makes it difficult for the city to be seen to be an unambiguous symbol of the national identity. However, the history and ethnic diversity of the city do allow make it possible to variety of interpretations of its cultural heritage that reflect the different tourist markets. The renewal of the ‘Rīga’ brand has occurred several times over the past decade, which indicates the city's ongoing search for its identity as a tourist destination and its re-emergence as a European capital city.

Career Perceptions of Heritage Management Studies: A Case Study of Undergraduates in Macao

This research examines the attitudes and perceptions of undergraduate heritage management students in Macao towards the city's cultural heritage industry and its career prospects. Students who have positive attitudes and perceptions towards the industry are more likely to enter and remain in the industry after graduation. We surveyed 127 heritage management students who are currently studying at the Institute for Tourism Studies. The results reveal that students in general have a neutral attitude towards the nature of the job and the social status of the industry, but have a negative disposition towards its careers prospects. They also show a low intention to enter the industry upon graduation. Faculty members and teachers, and heritage-related work experience, are found to have the greatest positive influences on students' career decisions. The implications for heritage management educators, the industry and the private and public sector are discussed.

Memória, alimentação e etnias

Within the locus eloquentia of gender studies and memory, this article presents some discussion on the quotidian and cooking on a number of rural roads in the area of Joinville city, northeastern Santa Catarina state, Brazil. Face the new concerns on cultural heritage preservation, as well as the relation between tourism and cultural policies, it is appropriate to question how different inhabitants have been (re)building meanings about the city, a space that is per se privileged, in order to add in quotidian life other narratives on heritage and “ways of doing” things. It is important to highlight that this city has been colonized after 1851, mostly by German immigrants; however, in contemporary times it gathers (im)migrants from several other areas, presenting a cultural diversity which often is based on the view of cooking as “typical of German immigrants” as a significant element in the municipal identity. Therefore, we seek to understand this issue departing from Oral History methodologies, particularly from female memories as well as Joinville city cultural heritage aspects, in order to contribute to the various reflections on cultural heritage in the region, and its relation to cultural policies.Key words: memory, food, ethnicities.

CITY FESTIVAL - A TRADITIONAL CULTURAL EXPRESSION OF THE CREATIVE INDUSTRIES (THE CASE OF INTERNATIONAL CONTEMPORARY DANCE FESTIVAL “NEW BALTIC DANCE”) / MIESTO FESTIVALIAI – TRADICINĖ KULTŪRINĖ KŪRYBINIŲ INDUSTRIJŲ RAIŠKA (TARPTAUTINIO ŠIUOLAIKINIO ŠOKIO FESTIVALIO ”NAUJASIS BALTIJOS ŠOKIS“ ATVEJIS)

The article is based on theoretical overview on the subject of festival with its focus on special occasion having some unique aspect which is important to both the organizers and visitors of the festival. Second part of the article represents a case of International Contemporary Dance Festival. City festival is a traditional cultural expression of the creative industries. Creative city more rapidly develops through festival activities – creative cities use their creative potential in various ways: cultural activities, expressions, experiences, involvement of city inhabitants and visitors, presentation of city cultural heritage assets. A case study presented in the article is based on quantitative survey conducted during International Contemporary Dance Festival “New Baltic Dance” which took part in Vilnius 4–9 May 2010. Survey is designed for five key factors: choosing the festival, frequency of festival visits in Vilnius, transportation type visitors have arrived to the festival, channel visitors have found information about the festival, expenses during the festival period (including entrance ticket, overnight if needed, etc.), and each variable correlation between age, gender and education. Survey also includes fact-finding questions as destination festival visitors have arrived from and if festival visitors have used hotel services. While comparing goals of festival organizers and survey results, a conclusion is made that “New Baltic Dance” is a part of Vilnius city creative industries, meeting aims of the capital city and also of other Lithuanian cities and peripheries, attracting university graduates who have high demand for contemporary culture expressions and interest in contemporary dance process. On the other hand, festival visitors almost have no direct demand for better city tourism infrastructure and their economic input to the city development is very low. Santrauka Straipsnyje pristatoma miesto festivalių kaip tradicinės kultūrinės kūrybinių industrijų raiškos koncepcija. Teorinė dalis grindžiama festivalio objekto analize, festivalio kilmės, poveikio, unikalumo ir svarbos bendruomenės nariams, miesto, šalies gyventojams ir svečiams apžvalga. Antroji straipsnio dalis skirta tarptautinio šiuolaikinio šokio festivalio ”Naujasis Baltijos šokis“ atvejo analizei. Kaip manoma, kūrybinis miestas kur kas greičiau plėtojasi per festivalių veiklas – kūrybiniai miestai naudoja savo kūrybinį potencialą įvairiausiais būdais: plėtodamos kultūrines veiklas, ekspresiją, patirtis, įtraukdamos miestelėnus ir miesto svečius, pristatydamos miesto paveldą. Straipsnyje pristatomas atvejis yra kiekybinio tyrimo fragmentas, atliktas tarptautinio šiuolaikinio šokio festivalio ”Naujasis Baltijos šokis“ metu 2010 m. gegužės 4–9 d. Tyrimą grindžia šie pagrindiniai veiksniai: priežastys, lėmusios tiriamojo festivalio pasirinkimą; apsilankymo Vilniuje organizuojamuose festivaliuose dažnis; būdas, kaip žiūrovai pasiekė festivalį; kanalas, per kurį žiūrovai sužinojo apie festivalį; išlaidos, kurias patyrė festivalio žiūrovai (įskaitant bilietus į renginius, nakvynės mokesčius ir kt.). Tirta kiekvieno kintamojo koreliacija su sociodemografiniais rodikliais – amžiumi, lytimi ir išsilavinimu. Į tyrimą taip pat buvo įtraukti klausimai apie miestą, iš kurio atvyko žiūrovai, ir ar buvo pasinaudota viešbučių paslaugomis festivalio metu. Lyginant festivalio ”Naujasis Baltijos šokis“ organizatorių siekius ir tyrimo rezultatus, darytina išvada, kad šis festivalis yra Vilniaus miesto kūrybinių industrijų dalis, jis atitinka sostinės ir šalies periferijos kultūros gyvenimo poreikius, pritraukia aukštą jį išsilavinimą turinčią auditoriją, siekiančią pažinti ir patirti šiuolaikinės kultūros išraiškas, besidominčią šiuolaikinio šokio procesu. Kita vertus, tiriamo festivalio žiūrovai neformuoja poreikio geresnei miesto infrastruktūrai plėtotis ir daro mažą indėlį į miesto ekonomikos augimą.

UNBEARABLE PRESSURES ON PARADISE?

This article critically appraises and evaluates tourism strategies and heritage management in Luang Prabang, Lao People's Democratic Republic, a Unescodesignated “world heritage” city. Luang Prabang is widely regarded as one of the most significant heritage cities in Southeast Asia. The city is renowned for its Buddhist and royal culture and also its historic vernacular Lao, French, and Lao–French architecture. The city earned world heritage status in 1995, but since that time the boom in in-bound Asian tourism has put pressures on Luang Prabang's authenticity and, for some, called into question the validity of its world heritage status. This article examines these substantial and wide-ranging pressures and argues that the growth in tourism and the treatment of Luang Prabang's heritage are symptoms of broader regional processes of political and economic change, including the expansion of Chinese and Korean investment and the growth of intra-regional tourism. The authors argue that it is unreasonable to expect traditional heritage management mechanisms, including the world heritage listing, to be able to cope with the pressures on sites like Luang Prabang. The very least that is required, the authors contend, is an expanded understanding of the context in which heritage places sit, and the authors make a case that the cultural landscapes approach, combined with explicit concern for intangible heritage and poverty alleviation, must be at the core of any strategy for long-term protection of the city's cultural heritage values.

The Right Chemistry For Fragile Frescoes

In Florence, it seems a natural pairing. Much of the artistic and cultural heritage of this central Italian city is quite literally written in stone, in the form of exquisite Renaissance fresco paintings that adorn the city's famous churches and other buildings. Frescoes slowly deteriorate under the best of circumstances, and water, salts, and pollution speed up the process. With much art in need of restoration, Florence is also a city of art restorers, who are continually facing new problems and searching for better ways to restore and protect the city's cultural heritage. We have to do something to help them, says Piero Baglioni, professor of colloid and interface chemistry at the University of Florence. Baglioni is also director of the University Consortium for the Study of Large Interface Systems (CSGI), a group of physical chemists from six Italian universities seeking ways to use supramolecular and colloidal systems in industrial and other applications, including art ...

Newspaper Reporting of the May 1993 Florence Bomb

On 27 May 1993 a powerful bomb exploded in the center of Florence, Italy, killing five people and doing severe damage to art and architectural treasures, including the Uffizi Gallery and Accademia dei Georgofili. It was the first disaster since the floods of 1966 simultaneously to cause victims and damage the city's cultural heritage. In this study local and international newspaper coverage of the bomb outrage is analyzed and compared with reporting on the 1966 floods. Once again, questions of artistic damage and the safety of tourists occupied the foreign papers while human interest stories dominated the Florentine ones indeed, the English and American newspapers treated the damaged art treasures were almost as if they were human casualties. But since 1966 (and the collapse of the Eastern Bloc) Western news reporting has become depoliticized and dominated by new contexts, such as the pre-eminence of commercialism and, in the case of Italy, the struggle against the mafia. It is concluded that the nature and extent of newspaper coverage of the bomb outrage was determined, not by objective or moral assessments of newsworthiness, but by a mixture of ad hoc considerations and snap assessments of what the readership wanted to learn about.