Towards an understanding of Chinese tourist photography: evidence from the UK

Abstract

The relationship between tourism and photography has long been subject to academic scrutiny. However, the extent research has adopted a primarily Western perspective, exploring the photographic practices of Western tourists. Conversely, more limited academic attention has been paid to the photographic practices of non-Western tourists. In particular, although China is now the largest source of international tourists, few attempts have been made to date to how and why Chinese tourists engage in photography during their international travels. This paper begins to address this gap in the literature, seeking to identify the extent to which the photographic practices of Chinese tourists are determined by what may be referred to as a 'Chinese tourist gaze'. Drawing on research undertaken amongst Chinese tourists in the UK, it reveals a number of influences that determine the nature and significance of the Chinese gaze, including the traditions of pre-modern travel in China, contemporary socio-economic transformations in China, the role of the Chinese state, and technology, the latter suggesting the increasing adoption of a more universal, de-exoticised (photographic) gaze.

Performing love, prosperity and Chinese hipsterism: Young independent travellers in Pai, Thailand

“…The rise of sharing photographs online is inextricably linked to digital photography, and Germann Molz and Paris (2015) argue that online social networking sites have combined and assembled together with technological devices such as digital cameras and smartphones to afford people new forms of sociability. Li et al (2017) also similarly highlight that this digital revolution in technology is challenging not only the traditional sociology of photography in general (Bourdieu, 1996;Harrison, 2004) but also the role and significance of photography in the tourist experience in particular (Larsen and Sandbye, 2014;Lo and McKercher, 2015). Larsen (2008) also asserts that the digital camera has completely revolutionised the way tourist photography is carried out.…”

“…This article argues that photo-taking and sharing have become ubiquitous and omnipresent in Chinese society (Seta and Proksell, 2015; Zhang, 2017), and ‘selfies’ have become an everyday performative and social practice that has also become ingrained into contemporary Chinese touristic practices. However, at present, little research has been carried out on identifying the cultural uniqueness of Chinese tourist photography apart from a study by Li et al (2017), on their photographic gaze which is heavily influenced by state narratives of modernity (see Oakes, 1998) and by digital technology.…”

“…This article focuses on one expanding and diversifying group, that of young Chinese independent or self-organised travellers, of which relatively little is known about, particularly their patterns of tourism production and consumption. And while research on Chinese tourists has rapidly grown in the past decade, it has yet to really focus on Chinese tourist performances such as photography (beyond an initial study by Li et al, 2017 on their photographic gaze), or to conceptualise such actions as performances. Drawing on the ‘performance turn’, which developed in tourism studies from the 1990s onwards (see Baerenholdt et al, 2004; Crouch, 2000; Edensor, 1998), this article supports, despite Haldrup and Larsen’s (2009: 2) contention, that tourist consumption can be fruitfully approached and considered through the ‘lens of performance’.…”

Prioritizing destination attributes for optimal resource allocation: a study of Chinese tourists visiting Britain

“…To maximize the benefit felt from the natural environment, we recommend practitioners allow Chinese tourists ample time and opportunity to view and photograph these landscapes, as a "prized activity" (Pearce et al, 2013) and part of the "Chinese tourist gaze" (Li, Sharpley, & Gammon, 2017).This enables Chinese tourists to reap maximum satisfaction, by both enjoying the landscapes physically, as well as also taking symbols/tokens of these landscapes to share amongst their social networks as a status boosting activity (Sparks & Pan, 2009;Wong & Lau, 2001)..…”

Social media, popular culture and ‘soft heritage’: Chinese tourists in search of Harry Potter

“…Photo-taking and sharing have become ubiquitous in emerging middle-class Chinese society and ‘selfies’ have become an enthusiastic and everyday performative and social practice, even more so among tourists, and thus embedded in contemporary Chinese touristic practices (Kimber et al, 2019). More broadly, photography constructs an imagined authenticity that can be distributed, via social media, through the ‘statusphere’, strengthening middle class identities and creating social capital (Kimber et al, 2019; Li et al, 2019).…”