Mismatched canal conservation and the authorized heritage discourse in urban China: a case of the Hangzhou Section of the Grand Canal

ABSTRACT

Even before receiving the World Heritage designation in 2014, the Grand Canal in China presented a challenging conservation task. Chinese governments lacked an appropriate evaluation system and conservation principles for this particular type of heritage asset; rather, they tended to follow international institutional guidelines. This paper discusses the ideological and institutional factors in the authorized heritage discourse (AHD) framework to address current strategies and problems in conserving the Hangzhou Section of the Grand Canal. From an ideological perspective, the paper analyses the consequences of dominant Western values in regulating Chinese heritage practices, exemplified by the UNESCO evaluation system; from an institutional perspective, it identifies governments’ tendency to impose strict control over canal conservation projects. This paper argues that the existing hegemonic conservation approaches have failed to bring out the unique values of the Grand Canal. In addition, local governments focus more on reaping the economic benefits of heritage than on conserving the heritage in terms of sustainability, and local people’s interests tend to be dismissed in these processes.

KEYWORDS:

• Grand Canal
• AHD
• World Heritage designation
• fragmented bureaucracies
• urban revitalization

Acknowledgments

Thanks to Dr Y. S. Frederick Lee for his valuable suggestions and comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript. We are also grateful to the editor, Professor Laurajane Smith, and the anonymous reviewers for their constructive comments which helped us greatly improve the quality of this manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. Jiangnan is a special geographical concept in China that refers to the area of south of the lower reaches of the Yangtze River.

2. Wuzhen and Xitang are two historic scenic water towns in Zhejiang Province.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Mengke Zhang

Mengke Zhang received her Master of Arts in China Development Studies from The University of Hong Kong, Department of Geography. She is currently a research assistant at Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School. Her research interests focus on heritage conservation and urban geography. (Email: [email protected]; phone: [phone])

James H. Lenzer, Jr. is an honorary lecturer at The University of Hong Kong and a guest lecturer at The Education University of Hong Kong. He received his PhD from The University of Hong Kong. (Email: [email protected]; phone: [phone])