Constructing place : preservation and reconstruction of folk heritage buildings in Yunnan Province, PRC

This thesis is about preservation of traditional architecture and historical village environments in Yunnan Province, PRC. It asks the question why there has been a surge of interest in preserving and reconstructing historical structures in the reform-era, particularly since the late 19905. Answering this question involves looking at national-level discourse on cultural heritage, including legislation and ideological reasons for interest in preservation. It argues that state interest in tourism is the main factor motivating preservation, but this interest is also linked to ideology, mainly state ideology on patriotism, cultural inclusion, and creating an image of the PRC as a cultural entity where ethnic, cultural, and religious differences are allowed, but only as long as these differences are played out within the parameters set up by the state, and align themselves with the aspirations of the reform-era state, mainly economic development. Hence heritage preservation in Yunnan, a poor province of ethnic multitude, needs to be placed within the context of state and provincial interest in tourism, as a way of re-asserting local identity in the reform-era. Heritage resources represent a way of taking part in the market economy for poor communities. How this is done shifts with location, and the actors involved, but the ultimate aim of preservation projects is linked to tourism, and outside recognition, and in this sense this interest is an outcome of state discourse on development, cultural, and local particularity as a way of attracting tourism. Hence the state has been the pivotal actor driving heritage concerns, and how they are formulated, and interest in heritage is played out within state approved limits, as a response to contemporary discourse on development and capital accumulatio