ABSTRACT
Heritage tourism is increasingly important to the historic towns in China. It has become a crucial force to boost the local economy and prompt urban conservation. Up to now most of the literature about the impacts of heritage tourism concerns the cultural and social aspects of heritage sites but seldom addresses the issue of public space, especially the impacts of tourism on human activities and public space in terms of harmony and compatibility, which is one of the key issues concerning the heritage authenticity. This paper uses Lijiang Ancient Town of Yunnan province as an example to explore the impacts of heritage tourism on the public space of heritage sites from a commercial perspective. The data are mainly collected through in-depth interviews and on-site observations. It is argued that the profit-driven heritage tourism often leads to the dissociation of the harmony and compatibility between human activities and public space in the process of commodification. This directly results in the lost of cultural and social significance in public space and museumization. It also influences the authenticity of Lijiang Ancient Town as a world heritage site. Therefore, heritage tourism should not aim at making a profit alone, but should strengthen the compatibility between human activities and public space and enhance the social and cultural significance of public space.
