Cultural heritage tourism at film-related tourism sites: staged and existential authenticity at Hengdian World Studios

Figures & data

Figure 1. Localisation of Hengdian Town.

Figure 2. The ‘Palace of Ming and Qing Dynasties’ film studio. Source: Hengdian World Studios (n.d.).

Figure 3. The Forbidden City in Beijing. Source: China Highlight (2021).

Figure 4. A tourist sitting in the simulated imperial chair to take photos in ‘The Palace of Emperor Qin’ film studio at Hengdian World Studios. Source: Photo by the authors, 2020.

Figure 5. A touristic area in ‘New Yuanmingyuan’ film studio in Hengdian World Studios. Source: Captured by the authors, 2019.

Figure 6. An ancient painting shows the one area in the ‘Yuan Mingyuan’ (Beijing, China), which was destroyed in the Second Opium War around the 1840s. Source: China Reading Weekly (2020).

Figure 7. A group of studio staff, who were dressed in different Chinese cultural and traditional costumes, worked in the ‘Tourist Service’ centre. Source: Photo by the authors, 2020.

Table 1. Background information of interview participants.

	18–25	26–35	36–45	46–55	56–65	66+
Age	10	9	13	5	8	5
	Female	Male
Gender	29	21
	WeChat	Weibo
Interview platform	34	17
	Domestic tourists	International tourists
Nationalities	41	9
	Alone	With family	With friend(s)	With colleague(s)	Others
Travel type	9	14	15	6	6
	Before 2016	2016–2018	2019–2020	2021–2022	2023.01–11
Travel year	4	22	13	2	9

Table 2. Interview participants’ attitudes towards interview Topic A.

	Positive attitude	Neutral attitude	Negative attitude
Participant pseudonym	3, 6, 7, 8, 9, 11, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 21, 22, 23, 25, 28, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 45, 46, 47	1, 10, 12, 24, 29, 30, 39, 44	2, 4, 5, 13, 18, 20, 26, 27, 31, 32, 38, 40, 43, 48, 49, 50
Gender (overall number)	Female: 18 Male: 10	Female: 4 Male: 2	Female: 7 Male: 9
Age group (overall number)	18–25: 7 26–35: 3 36–45: 10 46–55: 4 56–65: 2 66+: 2	18–25: 1 26–35: 3 36–45: 1 46–55: 0 56–65: 1 66+: 0	18–25: 2 26–35: 3 36–45: 2 46–55: 1 56–65: 5 66+: 3
Nationality (overall number)	Domestic tourists: 20 International tourist: 8	Domestic tourists: 6 International tourist: 0	Domestic tourists: 15 International tourist: 1
Total	28	6	16

Table 3. Interview participants’ attitudes towards interview Topic B.

	Positive attitude	Neutral attitude	Negative attitude
Participant pseudonym	6, 8, 11, 16, 19, 23, 27, 32, 35, 42, 44, 45	1, 10, 17, 34, 46	2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 33, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 43, 47, 48, 49, 50
Gender (overall number)	Female: 8 Male: 4	Female: 2 Male: 3	Female: 19 Male: 14
Age group (overall number)	18–25: 5 26–35: 3 36–45: 1 46–55: 2 56–65: 0 66+: 1	18–25: 1 26–35: 2 36–45: 1 46–55: 0 56–65: 1 66+: 0	18–25: 4 26–35: 4 36–45: 11 46–55: 3 56–65: 7 66+: 4
Nationality (overall number)	Domestic tourists: 11 International tourist: 1	Domestic tourists: 3 International tourist: 2	Domestic tourists: 27 International tourist: 6
Total	12	5	33

Hengdian World Studios. (n.d.). Theme scenic areas. http://www.hengdianworld.com/en/Theme/

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China Highlight. (2021). 15 Interesting forbidden city facts you didn't know. https://www.chinahighlights.com/beijing/forbidden-city/forbidden-city-facts.htm.

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China Weekly Reading. (2020). Cultural Heritage in the New Era: Yuan Mingyuan and its international cultural Exchange. https://epaper.gmw.cn/zhdsb/html/2022-05/18/nw.D110000zhdsb_20220518_1-19.htm

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