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ABSTRACT
This paper presents a study of visitors to the Fuxi Taihao Mausoleum and provides two sets of results derived from mixed methods research. The first is a description of motives and behaviours derived from observation and interviews with visitors. The second set reports statistical data derived from questionnaires completed by 553 informants pertaining to motives for visiting the site and perceived cultural importance. The paper covers practices relating to the belief systems associated with Fuxi and Nuwa, constructed, objective and existential authenticity, the strength of traditional Chinese cultural practices, but also the role of good site management. The study identifies the types of visitors and their understanding of authenticity. In addition, it notes that observation of faith-based activities and management care reinforce a sense of site ‘authenticity’. Finally, it is suggested that longitudinal study is required to assess the impacts of long-term demographic and social change on faith-based tourist attractions and uses a directed acyclic graph to suggest future research questions.
Acknowledgement
This work was supported by the R&D Program of Beijing Municipal Education Commission (SM202111417007).
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Correction Statement
This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Xiaoyu (Nancy) Zhang
Xiaoyu (Nancy) Zhang heads the Film Tourism Research Centre at Beijing Union University. Her research interests relate to culture and tourism and the role of film in creating tourism destinations. She has previously published in Tourism Management and Tourism Tribune plus various book chapters. She gained her doctoral degree at the University of Waikato Management School.
Chris Ryan
Chris Ryan is Professor of Tourism and Director of the BUU New Zealand China Tourism Research Unit at the University of Waikato. He has published over 200 refereed journal papers and is a Fellow of the International Academy for the Study of Tourism. His research interests lie in tourist motivation, tourist behaviour and the consequences of such motivations and behaviours. He gained his doctoral degree from the University of Aston Business School.
Guangyi (Johnny) Zhang
Guangyi (Johnny) Zhang is a research student and assistant at the College of Tourism, Beijing Union University where he works on research projects relating to tourist behaviour, motivations and perception with specific reference to destinations of historic and cultural interest.
Yanyan (Daisy) Wan
Yanyan (Daisy) Wan is a research assistant and student at the College of Tourism, Beijing Union University, and is interested in the role of historic sites in China’s tourism.