From princes to the people : mapping the cultural heritage elements of Jingjiang Princes’ Palace in Guilin city for the development of heritage-based cultural tourism

Abstract

Large-scale urban regeneration activities have taken place in China in recent years and have often introduced tourism functions to revitalize old areas. However, urban regeneration in China today tends to base on economic priorities and neglects the tangible and intangible cultural heritage of places, creating standardized urban environments that destroy the rich and diverse character and identity of historic areas. Guilin, the author’s home city, has been a tourism city for a long time, and most of its urban renewal projects are about enhancing the tourism experience. Thus, it is necessary to record the tangible and intangible heritage, extract the spirt of place, and show the character of Guilin to visitors. As a trained urban planner and now being trained in cultural heritage conservation, the author would like to apply her knowledge in both fields to map the cultural heritage elements that should be conserved and sustained in order to ensure that the tourism development for Jingjiang Palace, a significant local built-heritage, and its surroundings will cultural and sustainable. The reason for choosing the Jingjiang Palace for the subject of this dissertation is that Jingjiang Palace is a gathering place for numerous eras of history and culture. Its Feng Shui layout, architecture remains, traditional spaces and streets record centuries of economic and social historical changes in Guilin which is a reflection of what sets Guilin apart from other cities. It is hope that this study will reveal the spirit of place of the Jingjiang Palace in the context its tangible and intangible cultural heritage elements, and make recommendations for highlighting the spirit of place of the Jingjiang Palace in light of the numerous issues that have arisen as a result of the area's transformation and tourism development.