Title: Residents' use and perceptions of the Summer Palace World Heritage Site in Beijing, China

Authors: Ming Ming Su; Geoffrey Wall

Addresses: School of Environment and Natural Resources, Renmin University of China, 59 ZhongGuanCun Dajie, Haidian District, Beijing, 100872, China ' Faculty of Environment, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada

Abstract: Many heritage sites are shared by tourists and local residents. Residents are often portrayed and examined as service providers and impact receivers. However, the recreational and social uses of heritage by local residents are often neglected at heritage site and have seldom been researched. This paper identifies use patterns, motivations, perceptions and experiences of local users at the Summer Palace World Heritage Site in Beijing, China. Research findings enhance the understanding of residents' uses and perceptions of a world heritage site. Practical implications are generated to inform future management decisions at heritage sites shared by local users and tourists.

Keywords: local residents; local use; local perceptions; world heritage sites; Summer Palace; China; social use; recreational use; local communities; usage patterns; motivation; tourists; tourism.

DOI: 10.1504/IJTA.2014.065599

International Journal of Tourism Anthropology, 2014 Vol.3 No.4, pp.357 - 369

Received: 18 Mar 2014
Accepted: 05 Apr 2014
Published online: 07 Nov 2014 *

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