Chinese and international visitor perceptions of interpretation at Beijing built heritage sites

Abstract

Research exploring visitor perceptions of heritage sites indicates that a site may hold different meanings for visitors depending on their cultural backgrounds. Little research has, however, identified visitor cultural preferences and so informed the development, delivery and management of on-site heritage interpretive experiences. This paper addresses this need by identifying cultural differences and similarities between Chinese and international visitors in relation to their interpretive motives, preferences and perceptions. Questionnaires were completed by 277 domestic Chinese visitors and 94 international visitors at five key Beijing built heritage sites. Differences between Chinese and international visitors’ conceptions of heritage; ratings of importance of facilities, services and interpretive content; and perceptions of the visitor experience are identified. Amongst many findings, Chinese respondents were more likely than international respondents to state that heritage sites should be an important part of the country's national heritage, convey the country's power and be famous. They sought built heritage sites visited by someone famous and that feature in well-known Chinese paintings and poetry. International visitors were more likely than Chinese visitors to state that heritage sites should have authentically old buildings and be relevant to contemporary life. Implications for interpretive and management practice at Chinese heritage sites are discussed.

中外旅游者对于北京遗产景区诠释的感知

关于游客对于文化遗产的感知的研究指出：同一个地方对于来自不同文化背景的人来说可能意味着不同的意义。但是，很少有研究提到游客的文化偏好和对于文化遗址所传达意义的管理发展。本文通过鉴别中外游客之间文化异同性与其感受偏好之间的关系来解决这方面的缺失。调查问卷被分发到位于五处北京历史遗迹的277名中国国内游客和94名外国游客手中。中外游客对于历史遗迹这概念的异同；对于设施，服务以及内容哪个更看重；研究中发现，中国游客比起国外游客来，更强调文化遗迹应该是国家历史的一部分，彰显出国家力量的强大且赫赫有名。中国游客还认为文化遗址应该跟某个著名人物有关而且古香古色雕梁画栋。外国游客则认为文化遗迹应该是历史悠久的建筑而且跟同时代的生活息息相关。关于历史遗址的管理以及某些含义的解释说明亦在本文讨论之列。

Keywords:

• interpretation
• heritage tourism
• visitors
• heritage management

关键词:

• 诠释
• 遗产
• 游、
• 游者
• 遗产管理

Additional information

Notes on contributors

R. Ballantyne

Roy Ballantyne is a research professor in the School of Tourism at the University of Queensland, Australia. He has a well-established international reputation for his research in environmental interpretation and visitor learning. His work has advanced the field of informal environmental learning in cultural, heritage and environmental settings, particularly in relation to visitor adoption of environmentally sustainable behaviour.

K. Hughes

Dr Karen Hughes has been involved in tourism research for approximately 20 years, covering a wide range of topics, including tourist satisfaction with guided tours, tourist behaviour, environmental interpretation, visitors’ use of and preferences for information centres, beach safety, wildlife tourism and designing interpretive signs. In 2009 Karen completed a PhD exploring the impacts of post-visit support on families’ conservation learning at Mon Repos turtle rookery. She is currently working on several research projects investigating interpretation at heritage and wildlife tourism sites.

P. Ding

Dr Peiyi Ding is the deputy director of the Tourism Confucius Institute at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia. His main research area is environmental management for tourism development, with a focus on environmental auditing for tourism organisations.

D. Liu

Professor Dake Liu has a PhD in economics and is the dean of the School of Economics, Trade and Event Management at Beijing International Studies University in China. His main research area is convention and exhibition management with a focus on the economic analysis of the convention and exhibition industry in China.