ABSTRACT
The large-scale development of tourism projects in ethnic border areas involves the tolerance of local ethnic cultures. Provinces, cities, and related enterprises, as well as individuals in the “Partnership Assistance to Tibet,” are involved in local ethnic culture projects. The Lunang International Tourist Town, a project of “Partnership Assistance to Tibet,” shows that sponsors and investors face great difficulties in the definition of local ethnic culture. There are significant discrepancies between the perception of “authentic” culture by locals and by enterprises trying to serve the expectations of tourists. The case of Lunang demonstrates that investors are sometimes more inclined to protect local ethnic culture than locals, and high-level government leaders are more inclined to protect local ethnic culture than lower-level leaders.
