ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the destination morphology associated with the city of Pingyao, an ancient walled city in Shanxi Province, China. It shows that the city wall as a reference point to characterize some periods of urban change in Pingyao’s history and eventual emergence as a major tourist destination in China. A. Gospodini proposes that urban morphology faces three properties in relation to tourism development: the preservation of aspects of the city’s past, authenticity in terms of spatial morphology, and richness in meaning. The chapter describes twofold: the first is the introduction of urban morphology in the context of China, as well as the sources that can be used in its investigation in urban tourism; and the second is to assess the historical development of the city wall in Pingyao, and to detail the impacts of tourism development associated with the wall.
