The Chinese View of Nature: Tourism in China’S Scenic and Historic Interest Areas
The Chinese View of Nature: Tourism in China’s Scenic and Historic Interest Areas Feng HAN BLA, Tongji University, Shanghai, China MLA, Tongji University, Shanghai, China Principal Supervisor Dr. Daniel O’Hare Queensland University of Technology, Australia Associate Supervisor Dr. Jeannie Sim Professor Jennifer Taylor Queensland University of Technology, Australia External Associate Supervisor Professor Binyi LIU Tongji University, Shanghai, China School of Design Faculty of Built Environment and Engineering Queensland University of Technology Submitted in part-fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of the Doctor of Philosophy December, 2006 Key Words Value, nature, culture, Scenic and Historic Interest Area, landscape, tourism, authenticity, cultural landscape, heritage landscape, conservation, World Heritage, China. I Abstract Tourism has greatly increased world wide in recent decades, especially in China. Nature-dominated Scenic and Historic Interest Areas, representative of the Chinese philosophy of the ‘oneness of nature and human beings’, are the most popular tourism destinations in China. Tourism impacts in these areas have been receiving the attention of heritage landscape conservation. Management actions have largely been determined with an emphasis on natural values. This thesis maintains that values relating to nature are socially and culturally constructed, and that they dynamically change through history. By investigating the social and cultural structures underpinning values related to nature, a macro-history method has been applied to explore the traditional Chinese View of nature from traditional Chinese philosophies and landscape cultures. An instrumental case study method has been applied to explore the contemporary Chinese values of nature. The relationships between traditional values and contemporary values have been identified.
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