A Case Study of Tourism in Chinese Peasant Society
Maggie Mosher
Introduction
In this essay, I discuss a hitherto neglected aspect of the anthropology of tourism: namely, touristic attitudes
and behaviors in peasant societies. I fix my analysis in cultural space by focusing on a case taken from China;
however, I am interested not only in description, using a cultural ecological perspective, but also in explanation of
the distinctive pattern of sightseeing that obtains there. I fix my analysis in cultural time by first outlining and
briefly discussing an evolutionary schema of tourism consisting of three stages: primitive, peasant, and modern.1
In this essay, I focus less on the primitive and the modern in order to consider in detail aspects of tourism in pre-
modern and modernizing peasant society. This paper is thus cultural ecological in conception and evolutionary in
perspective.
While I am interested in deducing from the Chinese case a touristic morale applicable to modernizing peas-
ant society in general, I am aware of the fact that there may be aspects of Chinese tourism that are unique to the
Chinese case. I hope to point out several features of Chinese tourism that distinguish it from the non-Chinese
variety and that, therefore, cannot be attributed to peasant tourism in general.
Finally, in this paper, I define tourism broadly as travel for noneconomic purposes. That is, from this per-
spective, the two aspects of tourism that serve to minimally define this subset of human activity are its mobility
and its leisure, the latter referring to freedom from immediate economic concerns.
The Evolution of Tourism
Touristic behavior in the most general sense (i.e., that of the definition given above) is present at all cultural
levels. However, it manifests itself differently in primitive, peasant, and modern societies. I present in this section
several concepts that I believe are critical determinants of the way touristic behavior is expressed in various socie-
ties. I begin by presenting a preliminary list of the preconditions for tourism. Such a list might include the
following:
(1) Higher productivity. As Nash points out, higher productivity "has made possible the development of lei-
sure classes as well as an improved material apparatus for travel" (1977:36).
(2) Sensory input. Following Berlyne (1962), a precondition for tourism is a level of sensory input that is
outside the optimal range (Graburn 1977).
Hunting-and-gathering groups living in temperate climates and most of the tropical ones would have been
able to accumulate the surplus necessary to occasionally make trips that satisfied nonmaterial needs. Thus some,
although by no means all, hunting-and-gathering groups would have been able to satisfy Nash's criterion of sur-
plus. Additionally, in the absence of roads or means of transportation, whatever travel was undertaken would have
been severely limited in extent. In sum, even hunting-and-gathering groups would seem to have had, with some
qualifications, a level of production that would allow some travel of limited duration and distance for noneco-
nomic purposes. Under the definition given in the introduction, this type of travel would be considered tourism.
The second precondition for tourism-a level of mental stimulation outside thfe optimal range-requires
greater elaboration. In order to make cross-cultural sense out of Berlyne's proposition (1962) for primitive groups,
the proposition requires refinement in two ways. First, a distinction must be made between the two main sources
Maggie Mosher
of "novelty, complexity, and information." Second, the absolute level of sensory input for each technocultural
level must be assessed.2
With regard to the first point, an initial dichotomization of the stimulus field of human beings would separ-
ate stimuli originating in the behavior of other human beings from stimuli originating in the natural world. It
seems to me that primitive societies can be differentiated from peasant and modem societies precisely along this
axis (Figure 1). My intuitive assessment of the relative balance of natural versus anthropogenic sensory inputs is
that it is biased toward the natural world for primitives and toward the anthropogenic for peasants and modems.
This "imbalance" in sensory inputs may be behind the focus among hunters and gatherers on large seasonal gath-
erings and the accompanying relative deemphasis of encounters with the natural world and, among peasant and
especially modem societies, the relative emphasis on encounters with nature.3 To put the matter in economic
terms, given the relative abundance of environmental stimuli and the relative scarcity of human stimuli in hunting-
and-gathering groups, marginal utility of the latter exceeds that of the former.
I would argue that the most exciting part of a primitive's environment is the human environment: that is, the
people with whom he comes into contact. At the same time, many hunting-and-gathering groups travel great dis-
tances in their quest for food. These trips, the primary motivation of which is economic, also generate environ-
mental stimuli in abundance. With the sedentarization that accompanies the shift to slash-and-bum horticulture,
and the even narrower delimitation of the "exploited" natural world that comes with agriculture, one's natural
horizons are successively restricted. The pursuit of one's livelihood no longer takes one great distances. In the
extreme case, which is represented by China, one's miniaturized fields are located within a few minute's walk
from one's front door. One sees little of nature's variety in such an economic context.
Paradoxically, at the same time that the dimensions of the experienced natural world are shrinking, those of
the social world are expanding. Agriculture permits great masses of people to live in close quarters. Although
what may be called "social density" is difficult to compute precisely, a sense of what this means may be gained by
comparing the population densities of hunting-and-gathering with agricultural societies. Hunting-and-gathering
societies seldom average more than five people per square mile, usually much less. By comparison, the current
population density of the Canton Delta region of China is approximately 3,000 people per square mile. The
emphasis on pilgrimages to local and distant beauty spots, which will be discussed in more detail in the following
section, may result in part from the extremely high social density.
Primitive, peasant, and modem societies probably also differ in the absolute level of sensory inputs. Individ-
uals in hunting-and-gathering groups probably experience the lowest stimulus level; members of modem societies
the highest; and peasants the intermediate level, but one closer to primitives than modems (Figure 2). Individuals
in developed nations are stimulated at will. With the development of the mass media, workers are sensorially
released from the purview of their workplaces. The never-ending grind of work and sleep that characterized life in
the early stages of the industrial revolution has given way to the electric/electronic revolution and its society of lei-
sure. A book, movie, or television program can instantly and totally saturate one's senses for several hours, taking
one to another time, place, and life. Moderns have become adjusted to a high level of stimulus and, in its absence,
experience stimulus deprivation (e.g., boredom, listlessness) at levels that primitives or peasants would perhaps
Primitive  *                                      High
Peasant
Modem
Low        0
Nature                     Human                Primitive   Peasant   Modem
Predominate Type of Sensory Input                 Techno-cultural Level
Figure 1. Diagram of the relative balance of natural versus  Figure 2. Sensory input levels for individuals
anthropogenic sensory inputs for primitive, peasant, and  in societies of differing technocultural levels.
modem man.
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A Case Study of Tourism in Chinese Peasant Society
find quite tolerable.
In modem societies, transportation is convenient and relatively cheap. Many can readily afford to travel long
distances in search of adventure, stimulus, and excitement. Ironically, the very process by which transportation
becomes accessible and by which long-distance travel becomes a simple matter of mechanics also implies a politi-
cal, economic, and social integration and homogenization that undermines the very search for stimulus for which
the trip is undertaken. From the standpoint of the American leisure class, there is little to be said for long-distance
trips that consist only of visits to eateries and night-eries with the standard amenities, since there is little difference
between the East Coast and the West Coast with regard to these matters. In traditional societies, on the other hand,
travel is arduous and is undertaken only for important material or spiritual rewards, not for sheer "neurotic stimu-
lus." As in modem societies, the boundaries within which easy travel is feasible also define the area within which
ethnic and economic interaction and homogenization are beginning to occur.
Of course, in traditional peasant societies, the dimensions of integration are drawn much tighter around local
populations as a consequence of the much lower levels of commercialization and the difficulty of travel. Peasant
societies, in China and elsewhere, consist of a mosaic of country markets and their associated cluster of villages or
hamlets. This is referred to as a "standard marketing area" in the regional systems literature and is in general that
area located within a day's round trip of the market town. This is, as Skinner (1977) has so brilliantly demon-
strated, the basic economic, social, and cultural unit of Chinese society in particular and of peasant society in gen-
eral. I claim that it is also the area within which, in a peasant society, sightseeing for sheer pleasure (i.e., the posi-
tive stimulus of the trip) occurs.
This is not to say that people never cross the boundaries of their standard marketing areas. There are certain
goods and services that cannot be purchased in the standard market town and can only be obtained further up the
hierarchy of economic central places. But such trips are rare or nonexistent for the ordinary farmer, whose needs
are well served at the local level. Although there were certain classes in traditional Chinese society, notably land-
lords and merchants, whose interests extended beyond the standard marketing area to the central market or even
higher, such people constituted only a small fraction of the total population. Thus, it is my contention that the
effective world of the peasant is the standard marketing area and that he is unlikely to travel outside of this area
for any reason, including sightseeing.
The Setting: Jiang-wei ("River's End"), Guangtong Province
Jiang-wei is located in the delta of the Pearl River. The name Jiang-wei means literally "river's end" and is
used by residents to refer to a football-shaped area approximately eight kilometers wide and fifteen kilometers
long. Although it is surrounded by water and is thus technically an island, it is only separated from the other
"islands" of the Pearl River delta by two arms of the alluvial landscape and is punctuated by a central mass of low
rolling hills and a half dozen small hillocks in the north of the island.
Jiang-wei has constituted a recognized district for several hundred years. Along with several adjacent,
smaller areas, it comprises the People's Agricultural Commune of Jun-an. There are thirteen brigades in the Jiang-
wei portion of Jun-an Commune, just as there were thirteen xiang (subdistricts) in traditional times, each consist-
ing of a single large village or a cluster of hamlets. Agriculture is the mainstay of the local economy, employing
more than 90 percent of the population. According to the 1929 Shun-te County Gazetteer, sericulture and piscicul-
ture have been the mainstays of the local economy since the early 1800s. Contemporary Jiang-wei remains a
mosaic of fish ponds and mulberry fields, although small quantities of sugarcane, vegetables, bananas, and rice are
also cultivated. The main exports of the area are silk thread and fish, while most of the grain consumed in the area
is imported.
Tourist Attractions: The "Eight Sights" of River's End
Over the past three decades [to 1979], the Communists have succeeded in establishing a sense of national
pride and identity among the residents of Jiang-wei. The youth, several dozen of whom were able to journey
throughout China during the Cultural Revolution on the national rail system, are clearly cognizant of the Chinese
nation. Even older, uneducated villagers have some sense of the country as a whole. This was not always the case,
however. Older villagers clearly recall a time when the provincial capital, Kuanghow City, located fifty kilometers
away, was a sight that only a privileged few would see in a lifetime. This was also the time when the "Grand
Tour" for the Jiang-wei villager consisted of visiting the circuit of the "Eight Sights" of River's End.
When I mentioned the Eight Sights to older informants, I could sense their excitement as they eagerly
explained what it was about the various sights that was extraordinary and worth seeing. Their attitudes, enthu-
siasm, and the layers of lore surrounding each of the sights made it clear to me that a tour of the Eight Sights had
been a real "occasion," even as late as the 1940s.4
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57
Maggie Mosher
The trip took one day for the hardy and two, or perhaps even three, for the elderly and infirm. Although
there were no designated starting or ending points, the Eight Sights were usually visited in the same order, which
was determined entirely by the shortest complete circuit of the entire set of eight. This order is maintained in the
discussion of the Eight Sights that follows:
1. The Mist-scape of Fu River (Fu Hai Yin Bwo)
In the subdistrict of Fu-an, there is a Buddhist monastery previously inhabited by a small coterie of monks,
but currently unoccupied. On a small hill a few feet from the temple is a pavilion once famous for its view. Before
the revolution, a swath of bamboo extended from the pavilion north to the river 100 meters away. The heavy
morning river mist formed a backdrop to the bamboo grove and, swirling through the bamboo thicket, added a sur-
real element to the scene. The bamboo grove, like all other previously uncultivated areas within the commune, has
since been leveled and the area that it once occupied is now planted with uninspiring vegetables. Today, there is
only the mist and the river, a sight for which few ascend the stairs. There are many stories told of the fairies and
other creatures that would occasionally be seen in the bamboo grove. These, of course, are seen no more, for they
were a manifestation of the grove's special appeal, and they disappeared when it did.
2. The Floating Rock of Xing-chai
Before the revolution there was a large, partially submerged rock in the Pearl River near Xing-chai. The
rock, several meters in circumference at its widest, had a peculiar shape. It rested on a relatively narrow base, but
was capped by a bulbous protrusion. Entirely submerged during the summer flood waters, the upper portion of the
rock was gradually exposed as the river subsided during the fall. At low water during winter, the top of the rock
was exposed but the narrow base was still submerged. The rock thus appeared to be floating on top of the water in
violation of common sense. The rock was not merely attended to because of its ability to float, but because it was
also a serious obstacle to navigation (i.e., during high water, it caused navigators to go aground). It was removed
in the early years of the People's Republic in order to clear the ship channel.
3. The Well with No Leaves (Wu Ye Jing)
According to local tradition, one of the oldest wells in Jiang-wei is located in Sha-bu. It is a fine well, wide
and lined with stone, offering particularly sweet water, as it has for hundreds of years. The area surrounding the
well is also attractive, for it is densely planted with trees. Despite this fact, there are never any leaves to be found
in the well itself. What magic it is that causes this small miracle the villagers do not know, but they are sure that it
is no ordinary well.
4. The Blue Water Bowl (Ma Lan Shwei Wan)
There is a small rice-bowl-sized depression in a rock near Sha-bu. The bowl is always filled with water,
although it never overflows. The bowl is said to be impossible to dry out, even with a cloth, for water keeps
appearing. It is, of course, a small spring, with the water seeping in through pores in the rock invisible to the naked
eye. It still exists, and occasionally children can be seen attempting to empty it of water.
5. The Stone Bridge of Nan-mian (Nan-mian Xi Qiau)
Near the district of Nan-mian, there was a small stream running down the hill into the river. Arching over
the stream at one point was a natural stone bridge large enough to walk across three abreast. Since the revolution,
the stream has been diverted for irrigation purposes, but the archway still exists.
6. The Moonless Pond (Chi Tang Wu Yue)
In Sha-tou before the revolution, there was a fish pond that did not reflect the moon, despite the fact that it
resembled the numerous other fish ponds in the vicinity in its size, shape, and depth. This pond's special property
was destroyed in 1958 when it was enlarged, along with many others, in the name of efficient fish culture.
7. The Stone Dragon Drinks Water (Shei Lung Xi Schwei)
There is a large rock in Chwang-men shaped like a dragon. This alone is enough to make it memorable in
the eyes of the locals, because the dragon is one of the most meaning-laden creatures in the symbolic pantheon of
the Chinese. This dragon is noteworthy for another reason, however. During the rainy season, there is a small
stream that makes its way down the side of the mountain and disappears into the dragon's mouth (a crevice in the
rock). It thus appears as if the stone dragon is drinking water. This sight still exists.
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A Case Study of Tourism in Chinese Peasant Society
8. The Colored Tortoise Back (E Feng Tsai Ying)
Located in San-hwa, this sight was quite small, occupying an area of ground roughly two-by-two feet. It was
said to resemble the back of a tortoise in shape, although it was much more colorful, with blue, black, white,
green, and red striations. The expanding village of San-hwa reached this sight in the mid-l9SOs, however, and
there is now a house built upon it.
The Eight Sights were an important part of the natural and cultural environment of Jiang-wei residents. The
shared knowledge of these eight natural wonders served to link the residents of Jiang-wei to one another cultu-
rally, while, at the same time, distinguishing them from residents of neighboring delta areas.
Jiang-wei has produced commercial crops, mainly silk and fish, for at least 200 years. The bulk of local pro-
duction was exported to Guangzhow City and, later, to Hong Kong. Water transport was used exclusively, and
local vessels, owned and operated by Jiang-wei lineages, dominated local trade. Jiang-wei merchants and rivermen
were thus familiar with the water route to Guangzhou and with the sights that lined it. These sights, although
familiar to a portion of the male residents of Jiang-wei, never constituted, as did the Eight Sights, a definable set,
and special expeditions were not made to view them. Such sightseeing as was done along this water route was
done casually in the course of shipping goods to and from River's End.
I conclude from this that, in premodern Chinese peasant society, and perhaps peasant societies in general,
sightseeing followed the economic contours of the land. People were attracted to the curious and unusual, and so
would visit attractions in the areas in which their livelihood took them. There was little sense of identification with
such sights, however, and areas that, unlike Jiang-wei, were not commercialized saw little of such activity. Sights
located within the standard marketing area were viewed differently, however. Any two points within a standard
marketing area were, by definition, within walking distance of each other. Sights located within the boundaries of
this economic-cum-cultural-and-social unit took on significance as markers of this local unit, thus serving to rein-
force the cultural unity of the area.5
Tourism is not, as MacCannell (1976) would have it, merely a way of defining oneself by opposition with
the world. It may also be a way of defming one's social group by identification with the local world.
In situations in which travel is arduous and/or dangerous, it tends to be undertaken by large numbers of peo-
ple only for pressing reasons. These include significant economic gain and religious salvation, but not simple
sightseeing. Tourism, thus, is limited to those areas that are easily accessible. In a peasant society with only rudi-
mentary transportation facilities, this area is the standard marketing area. It is only within the standard marketing
area that sightseeing takes on the attributes of the local society itself; that is, it is transformed into a marker of not
only a local sight, but of a local society.
Discussion: Communication, Modernization, and the Evolution of a Tourist
Consciousness
In imperial times and even during the republican period, formal government in China extended only to the
county level. The republican government of China opened district offices at the subcounty level, but these never
effectively administrated the areas in which they were located. As in imperial times, the village and the larger mar-
keting area were left, on the whole, to rule themselves.
One of the major successes of the communist system has been the extension of the formal structure of gov-
enmment down to the village level and, indeed, down to the neighborhood level in the form of the production bri-
gade consisting of two to four dozen families. This extension has been accomplished by the establishment of com-
munes, production brigades, and production teams. The use of the word "commune" is a misnomer, since a
Chinese gongshe is less a commune in the Western sense of the word than a complex collective farm and a unit of
rural government. The next level of government is the county, but the county administration is sufficiently far
removed from the world of the peasant that he is likely to be unclear about its leaders and organization except in
the most general sense. This does not hold for the commune, however. The headquarters of almost all communes
are located in market towns, which remain the site of many of the goods and services that the peasant needs for
everyday life. As in traditional times, at least one member of every family goes to market once a week to purchase
goods or to obtain services. The economic centralization brought by communization means that the standard mar-
keting area has even more economic significance for the average peasant than it did in traditional times. Most
peasants are thus quite knowledgeable about commune organization and administration.
In short, the basic unit of traditional Chinese society, the standard marketing area, survives today in the form
of the commune. The Jiang-wei of imperial and republican times has been transformed intact into the People's
Agriculturl Commune of Jun-an. This being the case, why is it that the Eight Sights of River's End have become
irrelevant to today's villagers?
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Maggie Mosher
I would argue that the increasing irrelevance of the Eight Sights is a reflection of the declining social and
cultural significance of the standard marketing area cum commune as a whole. And this I would attribute to the
national consciousness that has been instilled in the generation raised under Communism. Jiang-wei youth are
aware of the import of decisions made in Peking, even though few follow events avidly. The perspective of the
youth and, to some extent, the middle-aged has expanded beyond the narrow confines of Jiang-wei to include the
vast land mass of Asia. This modem perspective has sensitized them to the importance of supralocal political and
economic movements, thus reducing the relative importance of events in Jiang-wei at the same time that their
absolute importance, when compared to republican times, is increasing.
The Eight Sights have also suffered from more direct comparison. The sight of a jet airplane is much more
impressive to the uninitiated than is a dragon-shaped rock that appears to swallow a small stream-especially to a
villager with no understanding of jet propulsion. The mere knowledge that such "creatures" exist would not have
been sufficient in and of itself to rob the Eight Sights of their importance; rather, it was also necessary for them to
be seen, in picture if not in person. The advent of television insured that the former was easily accomplished,
while the relative ease of boat and train travel insured that the latter was at least within the realm of possibility,
even if not immediately realizable for the average peasant.
The modem world has impinged upon Jiang-wei villagers in many ways-through the mass media, through
ease of travel, and most important, through the realization that Jiang-wei is no longer a self-contained political and
social entity as it was in the not-to-distant past. It is now an integral part of a nationwide political and material
economy that has undermined the earlier economic and social independence of the Jiang-wei standard marketing
area. It is not that Jiang-wei has entirely lost its significance as a social unit; rather, it no longer exists as a separate
and distinct social entity. It has ceded its social independence to the national government, which, in turn, has
effectively instilled, through the medium of education, a view of China as a whole, rather than that small portion
of China that is Jiang-wei.
It is no accident that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1969 involved a pilgrimage of
China's youth to the capital, Peking, just as it is no accident that these youth went with a clear picture of what they
wanted to see there. They went, in MacCannell's terms (1976), with "markers" that they wished to attach to vari-
ous sights. These sights included the Great Hall of the People, Tien An Men Square, and the other monuments to
China's new socialism. In one sense, it may be said that these youth went to worship the symbolic strength of the
New China and its leaders, for personages, too, can become tourist attractions.
In the same way, international tourism takes tourists to areas that have already been integrated into their
world view via the mass media, education, and travelogues. It is no accident that anticipation is said to be half the
fun, and this anticipation hinges on a more or less detailed, more or less accurate picture of what the destination
will be like. What was absent in traditional Jiang-wei was a world view that systematically incorporated elements
from the world outside of Jiang-wei. This is. what the Communists quite deliberately provided. Similarly, the
development of the nation-states of Europe during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries set the stage for mas-
sive internal tourism. A trip to the capital of France, Paris, was de rigeur for even the most countrified "French-
man." It was this strong identification with national symbols that was the essence of nationalism and patriotism.
Internal tourism served to consolidate the social boundaries of nation-states at the same time that military force
served to maintain them.
We may thus define two sets of conditions necessary for mass tourism. The first we may call "material con-
ditions." These include the availability of transportation at a cost that is within the reach of ordinary citizens, as
well as a political and economic environment that insures that travel can be undertaken relatively comfortably and
safely. The above conditions, while necessary, are certainly not sufficient. They do, however, serve to foster the
development of the second set of conditions. These are the symbolic markers and meanings whose fulfillment is
the reward of the traveler. These are the conditions that make it worthwhile to go to the expense and time of jour-
neying to sometimes distant sights. These conditions, although not logically contingent upon the first\ set, are usu-
ally temporally second. That is, the development of economic and political interests serves to force capital into the
development of a transportation infrastructure, and both of these factors, in turn, serve to stimulate information
about the now accessible regions, the interesting sights there, and their significance.
As a final point of argument, let me point out that there are few travel agencies that offer trips to "unknown
destinations." If, indeed, it is truly the thrill of the unknown that motivates people to travel, one would expect
package tours to be offered to unannounced destinations on charter jets with shuttered windows. However, most
members of what MacCannell (1976) refers to as the "leisure class" are intimately familiar with their destinations.
They have, in effect, done their homework in advance, or, in most cases, have had it done for them by the media.
They are members of a new international class of travelers whose world view is international in scope. The Chi-
nese equivalent of the leisure class-that group of individuals who have international aspirations-is quite small,
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A Case Study of Tourism in Chinese Peasant Society
but is rapidly expanding with China's recent economic and educational outreach.6
Conclusion
It is a truism that not all members of the same culture share the same world view. The "six-pack set," whose
aspirations and imagination are still firmly middle American, "sees America first." Likewise, upwardly mobile
Chinese members of the official, business, and working ranks (i.e., nonpeasants) want to see China and have few
aspirations beyond that. In China, however, there is a large geriatric residuum of individuals who identify wholly
and solely with their local district. For the older residents of Jiang-wei, the Eight Sights of River's End retain sig-
nificance as markers of the world into which they were socialized so many years ago.
Notes
1. MacCannell (1976) chose to ignore the evolutionary aspects of tourism by making a distinction between tourism and sight-
seeing. However, he neither defmes sightseeing, nor does he describe how it differs from tourism. In fact, the context of the
argument makes it clear that MacCannell mentions sightseeing only to anticipate criticism over the fact that tourism preceded
modernity.
2. It seems reasonable to assume that the optimal level of stimulation is only minimally determined by design features of
human neural structure. The major factor in setting an acceptable level of stimulation is the level experienced during childhood.
This level varies from society to society, and, as I argue here, from one culturo-technological level to another.
3. 1 may be glossing over an intermediate stage-namely, that of industrial man. I agree with Marx that the central relationship
in industrial society is between man and his productions. It seems to me, however, that in postindustrial society, as in peasant
society, the relationship between man and man is preeminent. The working class has been replaced by the middle, leisured
class as the modal social group in Western society and with this change has come a renewed emphasis on interpersonal contact
and understanding.
It is interesting that MacCannell, although taking a position similar to that given above, nevertheless claims that "the most
important relationship in modem society is ... between man and his productions" (1976:21). The whole thrust of his analysis
negates this Marxist tenet, which thus represents a central contradiction in his thinking. This is only one example of the lack of
sensitivity to process that flaws MacCannell's book.
4. Although many of the sights have disappeared in the last several decades, my informants promised to take me on the entire
circuit of the Eight Sights. Because of my short stay in Jiang-wei, the trip never materialized, although I was able to see the
first sight.
5. Note that my position here is similar to MacCannell's, when he writes: "The more I examined my data, the more inescapable
became my conclusion that tourist attractions are an unplanned typology of structure that provides direct access to the modern
consciousness or 'world view,' that tourist attractions are precisely analogous to the religious symbolism of primitive peoples"
(1976:2). MacCannell, however, never clearly defines the set of markers or sights that he is analyzing, nor does he do a structu-
ral analysis (in the technical sense of the term) of all or part of these sights or markers. Rather, he deals with the symbolic
aspects of tourism at a level of abstraction that obscures its temporal and spatial aspects. The contrast with my approach is
obvious, although I owe a clear intellectual debt to MacCannell for his symbolic insights.
6. In this regard, China has signed contracts for six large, international hotels to be constructed in China's largest cities (Peking,
Shanghai, Guangzhow, Nanjing, Wuhan, and Tienjin). The hotels are intended entirely for foreign tourists and not for their
Chinese counterparts. Nevertheless, their very presence will serve as a constant reminder of the world outside of China.
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