Factors Affecting Tourist Satisfaction with Theatrical Performances: A Case Study of 'The Romance of the Song Dynasty' in Hangzhou, China

This study, for the first time, attempts to explore the factors affecting tourist satisfaction with a theatrical performance, The Romance of the Song Dynasty in Hangzhou, China. Four factors are identified to have affected tourist satisfaction: “Performance,” “Venue Environment,” “Service,” and “Stage Facilities”. These theatrical performance factors are examined to assess the relative influence on tourist overall satisfaction. Tourists have the highest satisfaction with “Stage Facilities” among all factors, however, “Service” is the most influential predictor of tourist overall satisfaction. Tourist demographic and travel characteristics towards these four theatrical performance factors reveal several significant differences. Discussions and implications are provided to theatre operators to improve tourist satisfaction with theatrical performance not only in Hangzhou, but also in the whole China

Protecting Suzhou: Study of the Conservation of Cultural Heritage in the Cities along China’s Grand Canal

With economic and social development, China has lifted its people out of poverty and is continuing to work hard on the road to a well-off society for all. In such a historical period, China is paying increasing attention to cultural construction while developing the economy. How to protect China’s cultural heritage and create economic and social benefits at the same time is a huge concern of the national government. Nowhere is the tension between China’s cultural preservation and economic development more apparent than at the country’s World Heritage List sites. The Grand Canal, known as the Jing- Hang Grand Canal (京杭大运河) in Chinese, was inscribed on the World Heritage List in 2014. Since then, the Grand Canal itself has been systematically protected; however, the heritage sites along the Grand Canal have been not only facing development opportunities, but also experiencing commercialization and uncontrolled tourism that threaten their significance and integrity. Taking Suzhou as an example, this research summarizes the current status of heritage protection for Grand Canals sites in Suzhou, China, in light of the successful promotion of the Grand Canal’s World Heritage designation in 2014. The research also develops recommendations that will help other cities and towns along the Grand Canal in China develop preservation and development plans better to balance the relationship between historic preservation and social development and promote the joint development of regional culture and economy. In addition, analysis and case studies are also conducted on the impact of COVID-19 on tourism and the further impact on historic preservation. This research will also put forward some suggestions for the preservation of cultural heritage along the Grand Canal in the post-pandemic era

The art of SME export marketing: a case study

In this paper, it is proposed that integrating arts and culture into international trade missions will stimulate arts and crafts, as well as SME exports. It can also help to package trade missions so that they appeal to a wider audience and build SMEs’ relationships with international partners. Arts and cultural organisations – as well as individual artists – share features and interests with other SMEs. A case study illustrates that by piggy-backing on each others’ unique skill sets, industry, tourism and the arts can together successfully contribute to trade missions that promote a region and the products produced there. Lessons that the primary author has learnt from organising and participating in numerous trade missions are used to develop a framework that could potentially be utilised to develop similar programmes. The results should be of value to policy-makers, export development organisations, arts and cultural development organisations, and individual SME managers and artists

Soft power, ideology and symbolic manipulation in Summer Olympic Games opening ceremonies: a semiotic analysis

This paper is a semiotic analysis of Summer Olympic Games Opening ceremonies as performative texts. Owing to massive media attention, these events have become eagerly awaited global spectacles. However, with such a wide audience, the challenge is to convey both an Olympic welcome and something truly unique about the host city and nation. This creates a communication challenge and some interesting questions in terms of symbolism. Research into the content of Olympic Games ceremonies reveals an exercise both in forging internal cohesion and in projecting soft power. Soft power is an increasingly valuable currency in a multipolar world and opening ceremonies are a prime soft power opportunity. The paper seeks to uncover the ways successive Olympics Games organising committees have sought to balance the competing communicational objectives of opening ceremonies through double coding. The author considers every ceremony from Moscow 1980 to London 2012 in this comparative semiotic analysis. Keywords: Olympics; soft power; nation branding; codes; ideolog

Operation mode and commodity attributes of art festivals: the case of Tianfu Ancient Town Art Festival

Os governos necessitam de avaliar a forma como os recursos culturais locais podem ser valorizados no sentido de assegurar resultados económicos. Na China, existem mais de 1000 cidades antigas com uma história de cinco milénios. Estas cidades possuem recursos culturais e turísticos abundantes à espera de serem rentabilizados. Embora seja amplamente aceite que a realização de festivais de arte é uma estratégia possível para o desenvolvimento e valorização dos recursos culturais, persiste o problema de que a maioria destes festivais são muito semelhantes entre si.O presente estudo procura explorar o modo de operação de localização do festival de arte, com base na contextualização de protótipos e na perspetiva dos atributos de bens. Foram recolhidos dados do primeiro Festival de Arte da Cidade Antiga Tianfu de Chengdu e analisados de acordo com a teoria da produção artística. Em particular, esta tese explora a teoria do design de atributos de bens artísticos e o seu processo de localização, com base no cenário, e propõe a estrutura de comercialização do Festival de Arte da Cidade Antiga, ou seja, usa a criatividade cultural e os métodos artísticos para aprimorar a competitividade da marca na cidade antiga, produzindo bens irreproduzíveis e refletindo a sua originalidade, integridade e singularidade. Além disso, para melhorar a ponte entre a teoria e a prática, esta tese propõe o mecanismo de seleção de um alto nível de instituições funcionais de qualificação artística, como a equipa criativa, a equipa de desempenho e a equipa de marketing. Esta tese constrói ainda um sistema de avaliação multidimensional para avaliar os benefícios sociais e económicos. Estuda também o significado do modo de operação local de mecanismos de cooperação de longo prazo com governos, associações, empresas de media e alianças de cidades antigas, aprimorando assim a marca artística da cidade antiga de Tianfu.Os governos necessitam de avaliar a forma como os recursos culturais locais podem ser valorizados no sentido de assegurar resultados económicos. Na China, existem mais de 1000 cidades antigas com uma história de cinco milénios. Estas cidades possuem recursos culturais e turísticos abundantes à espera de serem rentabilizados. Embora seja amplamente aceite que a realização de festivais de arte é uma estratégia possível para o desenvolvimento e valorização dos recursos culturais, persiste o problema de que a maioria destes festivais são muito semelhantes entre si.O presente estudo procura explorar o modo de operação de localização do festival de arte, com base na contextualização de protótipos e na perspetiva dos atributos de bens. Foram recolhidos dados do primeiro Festival de Arte da Cidade Antiga Tianfu de Chengdu e analisados de acordo com a teoria da produção artística. Em particular, esta tese explora a teoria do design de atributos de bens artísticos e o seu processo de localização, com base no cenário, e propõe a estrutura de comercialização do Festival de Arte da Cidade Antiga, ou seja, usa a criatividade cultural e os métodos artísticos para aprimorar a competitividade da marca na cidade antiga, produzindo bens irreproduzíveis e refletindo a sua originalidade, integridade e singularidade. Além disso, para melhorar a ponte entre a teoria e a prática, esta tese propõe o mecanismo de seleção de um alto nível de instituições funcionais de qualificação artística, como a equipa criativa, a equipa de desempenho e a equipa de marketing. Esta tese constrói ainda um sistema de avaliação multidimensional para avaliar os benefícios sociais e económicos. Estuda também o significado do modo de operação local de mecanismos de cooperação de longo prazo com governos, associações, empresas de media e alianças de cidades antigas, aprimorando assim a marca artística da cidade antiga de Tianfu

Adapting Cultural Storytelling Styles to Modern Media

In the face of modern media, it is inevitable that certain cultural art forms will fade in popularity. Some may even fade out of existence altogether. However, there are continuous efforts to reframe these cultural gems in contemporary forms to preserve them for the younger generations. Digital media, such as animation and video games, provide the perfect vehicle to bridge the gap between traditional and contemporary. This paper investigates how storytelling practices have been carried through time and the creative ways they have evolved in the face of an ever-changing mediascape. To support this research, I present a narrative in storyboard form that borrows stylistic elements and techniques of Chinese opera. The Beijing and Sichuan opera substyles were specifically chosen for their dramatic presence, vibrant costuming, and Sichuan opera’s face-changing act known as bian lian

Visitor Perspectives of the Authenticity at a Heritage Destination: South Luogu Hutong in Beijing, China

The present study examined visitors\u27 perceptions of authenticity at the South Luogu Alley, a famous Hutong with more than a 700-year history in Beijing. The reconstruction of many historical heritage sites raises the issue about authenticity in tourism. After reconstruction, many Hutongs combined with traditional Chinese style and Western style in terms of architectural design, restaurants, tourism souvenirs, and activities. However, visitors\u27 perceptions toward authenticity at Hutongs continue to be mostly unknown. The study applied a self-administered questionnaire to collect the data from July, 2012 to August, 2012 at the South Luogu Alley. Visitors were asked to rate the authenticity of many aspects of the South Luogu Alley on a Likert-scale and to provide basic demographic information and motivations. The research defined the specific group of visitors at Hutongs as Hutonger , which are mostly local young visitors with a higher education. Also visitors at Hutongs are divided into four types based on motivations: casual visitors, authenticity seekers, pure escapees, and entertainment seekers. Important differences in perceived authenticity were determined based on different demographic factors of visitors, such as age and education. Older visitors and visitors with higher education tended to perceive non-traditional aspects as less authentic. The research also revealed that the main motivation for visitors at the Hutongs is relaxation and motivations influence visitors\u27 requirements for authenticity at the Hutongs

Digital practices to enhance Intangible Cultural Heritage

The term “cultural heritage” has been enriched with multiple contents in the last decades, partly thanks to the protection instruments developed by UNESCO. Despite the past, the cultural heritage is not limited to monuments and collections of objects. The term nowadays includes tangible and intangible cultural heritage (ICH). ICH includes traditions or living expressions inherited from our ancestors and passed on to our descendants, such as oral traditions, performing arts, social practices, rituals, festive events, knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe or the knowledge and skills to produce traditional crafts. Within this context, the Museum of “Passione di Sordevolo” preserves and spreads the cultural and social value of the largest representation of popular Christian theatre in Italy, called “La Passione di Sordevolo”. The paper presents the results of the research of the reconstructive modelling and visual storytelling project called "Digital historical scenic design". The project explores the use of digital technologies to create new content compatible with the Museum’s mission: dissemination, communication and valorization of the documentary heritage (photographs, sketches, drawings) and the systematic collection of the oral tradition of this theatrical tradition