Cultural Landscape Production In Old Town Of Lijiang Under Tourism Crowding-out Effect

Under the background of globalization, modernization, industrialization, urbanization, and tourism-orientation, ancient cities, towns and villages in China are in the process of transformation, declination, or even tend to completely disappear. Tourism development, which most likely cause the extrusion of indigenous inhabitants, the original functions and the indigenous cultures in tourism destinations, eventually results in tourism crowding-out effect. How should we reasonably develop these ancient cities, towns, and villages to attain the goal of unique tourism towns or villages construction? Combining the creation of nostalgic landscape with mountains and rivers with the realization of comprehensive social and economic progress is an important proposition in the modern era. Cultural landscape is an important topic in geography, which in-depth researches have been conducted and fruitful results have been achieved. Analysis of cultural landscape production from the new perspective of tourism development constitutes a breakthrough both in the fields of cultural landscape and tourism. The main content and conclusions of the thesis are as follows.1. Theoretical Research(1) The concept of Tourism Crowding-out Effect is proposed.Based on the integration of the major issues and content of social and cultural influence of tourism, the concept of tourism crowding-out effect is put forward. Tourism crowding-out effect, which is a kind of integrative effect brought about by the extrusion of the indigenous inhabitants, the original functions and the indigenous cultures from tourism destinations, and is generated in the space production of tourism destinations, has the characteristics of economic transitivity, social pluralism, space replacement and cultural fusion.(2) The theory of Cultural Landscape Production is proposed.Cultural landscape production is a process in which all the landscape elements are put into the logic of capital production to produce cultural landscape products through the construction of complex social relations and with the participation of various power groups and stakeholders. Its operation logic mainly includes capital circulation, power intervention and tourist flows. Consumer culture only constitutes a kind of external impact factor. Cultural landscape production from the perspective of tourism crowding-out effect, which occurs under the "pressure layer" of tourism crowding-out effect and the "dynamic layer" of stakeholders’ game, is a special case.2. Empirical Research(1) Two successive motivation stages of Cultural Landscape Production in Old Town of Lijiang.Politics dominated Stage Before1994, political power was the dominant factor to promote the Cultural Landscape Production. Five factors, with the changing political power as the key factor, influenced and dominated cultural landscape production in Old Town of Lijiang. Economy dominated Stage Since1994, economic force, especially induced by the development of tourist industry, has composed the dominant factor of cultural landscape production in Lijiang. Since1999, cultural landscape production in Lijiang has been under the influence of tourism crowding-out effect.(2) Before tourism crowding-out taking effect, five influential factors of cultural landscape production in Old Town of Lijiang.The five factors comprised the unique geographical environment, the changing political power, the harmonious ethnic relationship, the blending of multi-ethnic cultures, and the industrial and commercial prosperity, among which the changing political power was the key factor. With the combined action of five factors, the spatial pattern and the landscape of the contemporary Old Town of Lijiang were founded.(3) After Tourism Crowding-out taking effect, three characteristics of cultural landscape production in Old Town of Lijiang.The trait of space expansion of Lijiang City may be dubbed as Steady Change, that is, the maintenance of the overall pattern, local expansion and reconstruction of interior space. The trait of land consumption may be called Stable Progress, that is, the implantation of new functions to meet the needs of tourism development on the original city space. The trait of architectural landscape symbols may be concluded as Stable Innovation, that is, retention of the traditional domestic architecture of Naxi nationality and consumption orientation toward novelty and distinctiveness.(4) After Tourism Crowding-out taking effect, two influential forces of cultural landscape production in Old Town of Lijiang.The characteristic of cultural landscape production in the Old Town is multi-subject participation, among which local government, tourism developers and operators have formed "Growth Alliance". The combinative force of power and capital leads to tourism crowding-out, which promotes cultural landscape production. Under mutual limiting and balancing operation mechanisms of power and capital, cultural landscape production of the Old Town eventually results in Macroscopic Protection plus Microcosmic Breakthrough and No Change plus Transformation.3. Main Innovations(1) Taking tourism crowding-out of local residents, original functions and indigenous ethnic cultures into consideration, the concept of tourism crowding-out effect is put forward.(2) On the basis of space production theories, the theoretical structure of culture landscape production is created.(3) Taking Old Town of Lijiang as an example, the operation logic of cultural landscape production of old tourism towns is derived.Theoretically, the research is significant both in exploring the basic laws of cultural landscape production of old tourism towns and analyzing the tourism influences by cultural landscape production. Practically, it is also important in guiding tourism development and promoting world heritage protection. Further study includes improvement of theoretical system of cultural landscape production, the change of social relations behind cultural landscape production, and application of cultural landscape production in other diverse tourism destinations.