URBAN TOURISM: GLOBAL-LOCAL RELATIONSHIPS IN DALIAN, CHINA by Guirong Xiao A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Geography Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2007 © Guirong Xiao 2007 AUTHOR’S DECLEARATION I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii ABSTRACT China used to impress the outside world as a country that was focused on its own development with few links with the rest of the globe. However, thinks have changed and now China is an increasingly important global player. This research uses a case study approach to demonstrate this more recent dimension. By looking into the general patterns of urban development and urban tourism in Dalian, a coastal city of northern China, the study documents the efforts that a city in a developing country has made at different stages to link its social and economic development with the global scene, although some of these relationships were imposed by external world powers. Unlike many other Chinese cities which have experienced many planning initiatives, Dalian municipal officials had the foresight to have tourism development included in their urban plans as early as in 1980s, although the real importance of the role of tourism did not materialize until the late 1980s. It has been shown that tourism development of the city has been an integral part of and complementary to the overall urban development strategy. It has helped to strengthen the image of a city whose leaders have been keen to present it as clean, modern, active, and eager to promote itself to the rest of the world. They have striven to do this even though the city is still more influential at the regional rather than the global level. The environmental enhancement has not only upgraded the city‟s competitive competence but, along with the construction of numerous tourism facilities, of which conference centres are an example, also embodied the notion put forward in the paper that urban facilities are largely multifunctional and are aimed at and used by clients with multiple purposes. This also implies that tourism is not an end in itself but is one means of facilitating urban development. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This author is grateful for the helps from many people throughout her PhD „process‟, with special appreciation extended to: Doctors Geoff Wall, Peter Hall, Stephen Smith and Peter Deadman for their patience and insightful and inspiring inputs; Dr. Abby Liu for her critical encouragement in my determination of the PhD studies; Faith Mansfield and her family, Lynn Finch, Tracy Zhou, Huang Pu, Fulin Chen and Wei Chen for the friendship they have given to me when I was in homesick struggles; Prof. Chunyou Wu, Mr. Zhenwan Liu and Mr. Jiateng Chu for their recommendations of effective data sources during my field studies; and Finally, to my parents, husband and daughter, who always believed in my potential and encouraged me to fulfill my dreams. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 AN OVERVIEW ...................................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 RESEARCH GOAL AND OBJECTIVES ...................................................................................................... 3 1.3 DISSERTATION OUTLINE ....................................................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2 CONCEPTUAL CONTEXT ................................................................................................ 5 2.1 URBAN TOURISM .................................................................................................................................. 5 2.1.1 Tourism ........................................................................................................................................ 5 2.1.2 Towards Urban Tourism .............................................................................................................. 6 2.1.3 Defining Urban Tourism .............................................................................................................19 2.2 STATE OF KNOWLEDGE .......................................................................................................................20 2.2.1 Worldwide ...................................................................................................................................20 2.2.2 Site Specificity ............................................................................................................................23 2.3 FRAMING THE THEME ..........................................................................................................................25 2.3.1 Between the global and the local ................................................................................................25 2.3.2 Cities in globalization .................................................................................................................26 2.3.3 Policy and Planning ....................................................................................................................30 2.3.4 The development of MICE tourism .............................................................................................33 2.3.5 Players in MICE tourism ............................................................................................................38 2.4 SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................................................40 CHAPTER 3 RESEARCH APPROACH AND METHODS ...................................................................42 3.1 THE CASE STUDY APPROACH ..............................................................................................................42 3.2 DATA COLLECTION ..............................................................................................................................44 3.3 JUSTIFICATION OF THE STUDY SITE .....................................................................................................51 3.3.1 Tourism and cities in China ........................................................................................................51 3.3.2 Changing Momentum ..................................................................................................................57 3.3.3 Case of Dalian ............................................................................................................................62 3.4 SUMMARY ...........................................................................................................................................64 CHAPTER 4 A TALE OF URBAN DEVELOPMENT IN DALIAN .....................................................65 4.1 GENERAL GEOGRAPHY ........................................................................................................................66 4.2 LOCATION AND FUNCTIONS .................................................................................................................70 4.3 SPATIAL EVOLUTION ...........................................................................................................................73 4.4 TOWARDS URBAN PLANNING ..............................................................................................................75 4.4.1 Concession under Tsarist Russia (1889-1904) ...........................................................................76 4.4.2 Occupation by the Japanese (1905-1945) ...................................................................................77 4.4.3 Planning after the Establishment of P.R. China (1949-2000) .....................................................77 4.5 TOWARDS TOURISM PLANNING ...........................................................................................................82 v 4.5.1 National policies and regulations on tourism .............................................................................82 4.5.2 Functional relations among different levels of administration ...................................................88 4.5.3 Relationships between urban and tourism planning ...................................................................89 4.5.4 Tourism planning for Dalian ......................................................................................................91 4.5.5 Summary .....................................................................................................................................93 CHAPTER 5 DISCUSSION AND IMPLICATIONS ...............................................................................95 5.1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................95 5.2 REFLECTION ON THE PLANNING HISTORY ............................................................................................96 5.3 DRIVING MECHANISM .......................................................................................................................100 5.4 CONVENTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS AS CATALYSTS FOR TOURISM DEVELOPMENT ................................108 5.4.1