Yungang Grottoes at Datong City China Tourist Gaze and Consuming History in the Process of World Cultural Heritage Revitalization

Abstract

'Yungang Grottoes' at Datong City, China: Tourist Gaze and Consuming History in the Process of World Cultural Heritage Revitalization’ is basic qualitative research. There are four objectives: 1) To study Yungang Grottes in the dimension of historical development and production of Buddha space, 2) To study the process of transforming Yungang Crottes into a world cultural heritage, 3) To study Yungang Grottes, a World cultural heritage place in the dimension of tourist gaze and consuming history, 4) To study 'Yungang Grottoes Museum' in the dimension of representation of the history.

The research found that the Yungang Grottoes were excavated to create a pilgrimage space where Buddhism and government power were unified to stabilize the country's rule. However, with the changes in the social context, its social functions and meanings have transformed. After founding New China, the government recognized the value of the Yungang Grottoes and designated it as a national cultural heritage. Subsequently, relevant policies were formulated for its protection and improvement, making it a World Cultural Heritage site. This has given rise to an important phenomenon: the restoration and creation of new benefits for the past area. In the context of the revitalization of World Cultural Heritage, the Yungang Grottoes have been imbued with new significance. The state has developed it into a tourist destination, welcoming visitors worldwide to gaze upon it. By gazing upon these tourists, new historical consumption scenarios are created to increase "gazing," making each visitor an interpreter and disseminator of cultural heritage. History is transformed into "public history," used to strengthen the connections between the public, the nation, and the world. Under the force of gaze, the Yungang Grottoes Museum is used as a space for "visual consumption," displaying a curated and organized history to visitors while conveying its political discourse to the world and constructing a national image.

An essential finding of this study is that the "Yungang Grottoes" represent "the Past" that is being utilized in the present, which must be transformed from ancient sculptures to "historical," national and world cultural heritages while creating new benefits in terms of cultural value and economic value from welcoming visitors from all over the world, resulting in the phenomena of "Tourist Gaze" and "Consuming History," which are the large issues under one of the most prominent "processes of revitalization" of China and of human society in the present.

Keywords: Yungang Grottoes, Tourist Gaze, Consuming History, Cultural Heritage Revitalization

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