INFOCUS | CHINA | TOURISM-ENVIRONMENT
China’s best kept secret Yang Shengming
A
fter many research trips to Guizhou, English scholar, Gina Corrigan, remarked, “Guizhou is one of China’s lesser known provinces, and best kept secrets.” In many parts of the world, the advance of modern culture has caused the rapid disappearance of ancient civilizations bringing some almost to extinction. However, in Guizhou, the natural and cultural environment remains relatively untouched. The most outstanding trait of its cultural resources is its harmony between people and environment. Even today, much of Guizhou’s amazing cultural heritage remains well preserved, making the whole province a huge living ecological and cultural museum. Owing to the well-preserved condition of the local ecology and culture, China and Norway’s governments have worked together to establish Ecological Museums in Liuzhi Suoga Village, Zhenshan Village, Jinping Longli Ancient Town, and Liping Tang’an. Guizhou has no plains area. The land area is 87% mountainous, and 10% hills, of which 73% are karst land formations, making it well worthy of
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the name ‘The Karst Mountain Kingdom’. Many ethnic minority peoples live in the area; over 13 million people from 49 recognized ethnic groups, making up 37.85% of the province’s population. Raised in this mountain environment the people have developed their own unique mountain lifestyles and village customs, with astonishing and unusual architectural styles and cultural arts. Hidden in the lifestyle and farming methods of these many ethnic groups is a diversity of ancient historical traditions, making this a region “A Thousand Islands of Culture.” Every aspect of the province’s culture carries the deep impression and full-bodied flavour of the wild mountains, resulting in the emergence of a mountain culture unlike any other. This blending of ageold history with colourful cultures has become the most outstanding characteristic of Guizhou. Wherever you go in modern Guizhou, you can experience the astonishing splendour of Miao finery, rites and festivals, songs and dancing; riverside Buyi villages; the pure sound of Dong songs sung at the foot of village drum towers or flower bridges; the exquisite
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INFOCUS | CHINA | TOURISM-ENVIRONMENT
beauty of the Miao people’s dance; the resplendent Yi language stele and cliff rubbings of the Yi people; mysterious ‘living fossils’ of ancient human culture, for example, the Yi people’s Cuotaiji (creation story drama), the Tujia people’s Nuo sacrificial ceremony, dance and drama, the Tunpu people’s ‘ground opera’; China’s only Shui people community, ‘Shui Shu’, the last remnant of the Shui people’s ancient pictographic language; and relics of the Tunpu people’s Ming Dynasty culture. Guizhou remains as a treasure chest of living traditional minority arts, a museum of every day traditional customs displaying human history and culture. Ancient industrial practices continue. Ancient papermaking mills and papermaking skills, spinning, weaving, felt making, wax art, indigo batik, floral embroidery, vintage alcohol, tea production, along with many styles of ancestor worship and sacrificial rituals, festivals and rites, arts and crafts, oral traditions, music and dancing, historical legends, ecological knowledge, production skills and technology, lifestyle and customs, traditional community structures, and faiths are still alive and well. In ancient times, Guizhou’s mid west region was the ancient Mediterranean Sea, a shallow sea area and perfect home for ancient living things. More than 4000 different types of biological
fossils have been discovered in the area. A large number have verified that Guizhou was an important fountain head in the emergence of civilisation, with a resplendent Stone Age history and a mysterious ancient kingdom called Ye Lang. A strong historical influence of Yang Ming philosophy, an important role in the Long March and Japanese resistance, unique cuisine, alcohol and tea drinking culture, all add even more to the diversity and uniqueness of Guizhou’s cultural heritage. Proactive Preservation, Productive Use of Resources There are two extremes in attitude towards the treatment of cultural heritage. One stresses protection, at the expense of development, an attitude of passive isolation that emphasizes not touching and the preservation of the resources intact; the second stresses
Hidden in the lifestyle and farming methods of these many ethnic groups is a diversity of ancient historical traditions, making this region A Thousand Islands of Culture.
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development at the expense of culture and for the pursuit of ‘modern culture’ will cast aside or cause the destruction of cultural heritage. Countless examples already prove that passive isolation leads to a lack of reality, and doesn’t result in effective protection of cultural heritage. On the other hand, blind pursuit of development results in destruction of culture and does not in fact result in sustainable development. Based on a premise of protection, use of cultural resources, especially by a sustainably developed tourism industry, should be an effective proactive strategy for the protection of cultural heritage. In practice, the utilization of cultural resources is a proactive and more effective attitude and method for the preservation of cultural heritage. Owing to the slow economic and social development in the ethnic minority regions, there is a big difference between the level of modernization there compared to the more developed regions, placing these ethnic minority cultures in a very weak position. If these people are not aware of the value of their own culture, they will look lightly on it and easily forsake it, resulting in their
cultures being rapidly swept away in the tide of assimilation into the mainstream culture. Whereas, if these vulnerable minority peoples are able to make some money and achieve some development through the use of their own cultural heritage, then their cultural heritage could become a resource for poverty alleviation and creation of wealth, their self confidence and strength as a people would be greatly strengthened. They would gain a completely new insight into the value of their own history and culture. Becoming consciously aware of the need for their culture’s protection, they would initiate protection measures, becoming masters of their culture in the truest sense. Proactive use of resources and a reasoned approach to cultural protection will certainly bring about a new attitude towards both resources and development. The world already has many successful examples of accelerating protection of cultural resources through making use of cultural heritage in the development of the tourism industry. Guizhou has also been working hard in the search for a pragmatic way forward. Strategies for Sustainable Use of Cultural Resources Through our experiences we have gained a profound understanding
that sustainable development of the tourism industry and sustainable use of resources will only be possible if top priority is given to the protection of resources. Intangible and oral cultural heritages are relatively difficult to maintain compared to the physical cultural heritage. Comprehensive laws and regulations, experience and technologies already exist to protect the physical cultural heritage, such as ancient buildings, historical sites, or archeological artifacts. However, the situation is very different for elements of the non-physical and oral cultural legacy related to the lifestyle and production methods of the local community, such as traditional rites, customs, folk songs, dramas and dances. Once these have been changed, there is no guarantee that they will not be lost forever. Therefore, finding a way to make use of ethnic cultural resources in the development
Guizhou is one of the most agriculturally dependent provinces in China. It’s most precious, unique and irreplaceable resources are its non-physical and oral cultural heritage.
of the tourism industry, while at the same time successfully protecting the cultural heritage, is indeed a difficult worldwide question. Guizhou is one of the most agriculturally dependent provinces in China. It’s most precious, unique and irreplaceable resources are those aspects of the non-physical and oral cultural heritage of the people that are widespread throughout the countryside. These are also the resources which are most fragile. Our Aims Through the sustainable development of the tourism industry, and on the basis of both utilization and protection of cultural resources, further advance the harmony between man and nature and the establishment of a green ecological Guizhou.
Yang Shengming is an expert on travel and tourism
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