ABSTRACT
Cultural tourism is of growing importance in China, and from an international perspective, lies in the interest of the classical Han majority culture. However, for both the domestic and international market the period from 1995 has seen an increased interest and governmental support for regions associated with China’s minority peoples (e.g. as with the Sami, Bai and other peoples of Yunnan province), and in the culture associated with Buddhist and Taoist religions. This chapter studies how visitors evaluate their experience at Chinese Buddhist sites using the case of Wutai Mountain. Due to the long history of Buddhism in China, many Chinese Buddhist sites are of significant historical and cultural importance and have been designated as locations of cultural heritage at municipal, provincial and national levels. With the recognition of their potential to bring tourism income, especially in previously marginalized regions, a large number of Buddhist sites are now promoted as visitor attractions, hosting various religious and cultural events and collaborating with tourism intermediaries nationwide. Examples of such sites include the Big Pagoda in Shaanxi, the While Horse Temple in Henan, the Yonghe Palace in Beijing, the Mogao Grottos in Gansu, the Potala Palace in Tibet and Wutai Mountain in Shanxi. While many efforts have been taken from the perspective of those responsible for the promotion of these attractions, there has been a lack of study of visitors’ perceptions as to what they think are important about their visits to Buddhist sites. Appreciation of the needs and wants of the end-users of these sites is crucial for service design, quality management and the sustainable development of these sites as religious centres as well as tourist attractions. This chapter investigates the visitor experience from the consumers’ stance and presents some data derived from field-work conducted at Wutai Mountain (Shi 2007).
