"Learn to think and practice"
China is rich in intangible cultural heritage resources. By the end of 2023, more than 100,000 national, provincial, municipal and county-level intangible cultural heritage projects have been identified, and 43 projects have been included in UNESCO’s representative list and roster of intangible cultural heritage of mankind, ranking first in the world. In recent years, the upsurge of traditional culture in various places has surged, and the demand for cultural tourism consumption has been continuously released. Finding the "greatest common denominator" between the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage and the high-quality development of tourism and promoting the deep integration and development of intangible cultural heritage and tourism are of great practical significance for solidly protecting intangible cultural heritage, promoting the high-quality development of tourism and better meeting people’s growing spiritual and cultural needs.
Shaping tourism with culture and activating the new format of in-depth tourism
Intangible heritage injects cultural connotation into tourism industry. Intangible cultural heritage projects have profound cultural connotations, unique forms of expression, distinctive regional and national characteristics, and have a good foundation for integrated development with tourism. With the development and maturity of China’s tourism industry, the mode of large-scale landscape construction and resource development has become outdated, and deep tourism, which is closely linked with local society and pays attention to the excavation of historical and cultural heritage, has become a new format of tourism in the new era. In 2023, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism issued the "Notice on Promoting the Deep Integration of Intangible Cultural Heritage and Tourism", proposing that "the organic integration of intangible cultural heritage can further enrich the cultural connotation of tourist spaces such as tourist attractions, resorts, leisure blocks, key villages and towns in rural tourism, and red tourist classic scenic spots, and enhance the cultural heritage", which is a further step for intangible research tours, cultural and sports tours, recreational tours, intangible shopping festivals and intangible food festivals.
Non-legacy energy is transformed into tourism income-generating productivity. In recent years, the "non-legacy+"model has become a new fashion in tourism. For example, the ice and snow carving skills of the provincial intangible project in Heilongjiang Province have attracted visitors from all directions and become a highlight of Harbin’s ice and snow tourism. Shandong Province has released 17 non-legacy tourist routes such as "Spring Folk Art", which has become a new signboard of friendly shandong. Yunnan Dali relies on the March Street National Festival and the promotion activities of "Windy Courtyard" to open cultural and creative markets, pastoral markets and music markets, so that the trend of "following Dali" can revitalize the countryside. Yulin, Shaanxi Province has carefully created the theme tour of "Meeting Yulin, Dialogue with the Ancient City–Sharing the Intangible Heritage Time", and the intangible heritage projects such as Yulin Xiaoqu, storytelling in northern Shaanxi and folk songs in northern Shaanxi are very popular among tourists. Many local experiences in the integration of cultural tourism have verified the strong help of the "non-legacy+"model in realizing the "double harvest" of social and economic benefits in tourism.
The digitalization of intangible cultural heritage helps the transformation from "seeing the scenery" to "entering the scenery". The latest technologies such as digital storage, situational experience, virtual reality and augmented reality in the protection of intangible cultural heritage provide opportunities for cultural relics to speak and intangible cultural heritage to speak, and also promote the upgrading of tourism industry in terms of technology and concept. After years of development, China’s intangible cultural heritage protection has explored a mature digital technology model, forming a multi-modal form such as intangible cultural heritage database and AI intangible cultural heritage experience museum. The integrated application of intangible digital resources is injecting more high-quality and attractive cultural content into tourism in a multi-dimensional and continuous way.
Empowering the people to leave live transmission with their travels.
Tourism provides application scenarios for non-legacy live transmission. Intangible heritage is an important part of China’s excellent traditional culture, and it is the wisdom of life deposited by people everywhere in the long history. Live transmission’s intangible cultural heritage is the connection between the tourism industry and the local historical, social and living aspects. The space reconstruction represented by intangible cultural heritage workshops, intangible cultural heritage experience halls and intangible cultural heritage houses has strengthened the sense of participation and experience of tourists. In this process, popular "punch-in" projects such as interactive demonstrations and experiential teaching have provided conditions for the lifestyle changes of non-genetic inheritors. The presentation of non-legacy projects with historical and life attributes is conducive to enhancing the visibility of local society. At the same time, the tourism industry can give full play to its advantages in revitalizing rural culture and creating jobs for cultural tourism.
Tourism introduces folk power for the systematic protection of intangible cultural heritage. Inheritors are the important subjects of intangible heritage, the masses are the supporters of intangible heritage, and tourists are the potential inheritors of intangible heritage. Promoting the integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism, and bringing inheritors and people into the tourism industry system can not only narrow the distance between tourists and local people’s daily lives, but also create a tourism ecology with tolerance, friendliness, difference and locality, and is conducive to horizontally promoting the connection between tourism and other formats such as transportation, homestay and cultural creation, and building a new global tourism model. Non-genetic inheritors, rural craftsmen, cultural talents, agricultural professional managers in the field of agriculture, culture and tourism, and other new subjects will join in the cooperation and participate in the planning, management and service of the local tourism industry, which will protect and reserve an orderly talent echelon for non-genetic inheritors and create a good social atmosphere.
Tourism provides an important carrier for intangible cultural heritage to play its value in the times. Tourism, as a contemporary mass lifestyle, can really promote the connection between intangible cultural heritage and modern life, and is especially conducive to improving the intimacy, love and understanding of young people on intangible cultural heritage. When the inheritance of historical context becomes a social consensus, when more and more people, especially teenagers, recognize the charm and value of historical and cultural heritage, our treasures can be entrusted to others and passed down from generation to generation. A healthy tourism market helps to improve the cultural ecology and inherit the historical context. By cooperating with traditional festivals and folk activities, it can convey the intangible ideas, traditional virtues and humanistic spirit, enhance tourists’ sense of identity with Chinese culture and build a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation. The concentrated display of intangible cultural heritage in tourist destinations is an important platform for telling the stories of Chinese excellent traditional culture and promoting Chinese culture to the world.
The integration of literature and tourism has contributed a lot to Chinese modernization.
The integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism is a vivid practice to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese excellent traditional culture, and is an active exploration of cultural heritage in the new era "developing in protection and protecting in development". While vigorously promoting the integration of intangible cultural heritage and tourism, we need to pay attention to the following aspects. First, adhere to the priority of protection, develop in protection and protect in development. Based on the cultural core of intangible cultural heritage, adhere to the cultural background of intangible cultural heritage, avoid the damage of excessive commercialization to intangible cultural heritage, and let intangible cultural heritage be better protected and passed down in the integration with tourism. Second, always adhere to the people-oriented principle, stimulate the public’s enthusiasm for non-legacy tourism, connect the protection, inheritance and promotion of non-legacy tourism with the development of global tourism, and make inheritors, villagers and residents become the main participants and beneficiaries of tourism. Thirdly, according to local conditions, we should combine intangible tourism with rural revitalization, urban spatial transformation, cultural and ecological protection areas and national park construction, promote intangible tourism to adapt to the national development strategy in a wider scope and at a deeper level, meet people’s yearning for a better life, and explore ways to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of intangible tourism with China characteristics.
General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Chinese-style modernization gives Chinese civilization modern strength, and Chinese civilization gives Chinese-style modernization a profound foundation." In the new era, the mode of "non-legacy+tourism" is helping non-legacy "live", tourism "hot" and culture "fire". The diversified supply and high-quality development of cultural and tourism integration products will further play the role of non-legacy, serving the present and benefiting the people.
(Author: Zhang Qingren and Shanshan Xu, professors of the School of Ethnology and Sociology of the Central University for Nationalities, deputy editors of the periodical press, both special researchers of the Beijing Supreme Leader New Era Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought Research Center)