Research on the Evolution and Ptotection of Kulangsu Historic International Settlement Under the Influence of Tourism Development

Abstract

China has a large number of world cultural heritage sites at present. On the one hand, the rise of tourism can promote the regional economic development. On the other hand, excessive commercialization also challenges the authenticity and integrity of heritage sites. Since Kulangsu has developed tourism since the late 1980s, the cultural ecology of the community has long been overwhelmed by the over-exploitation of tourism. Taking advantage of the opportunity of being registered on list of the world cultural heritage as the “ Historic International Settlement” in 2017, meeting the challenges of tourism commercialization and reviving the traditional community has become important issues for Kulangsu in the“ Post-Applying for the Heritage Era”. This paper, taking the Historic International Settlement of Kulangsu as an example, based on historical literature, through analysis, deduction and induction, first sorts out the historical context and unique values from the aspects of historical development, urban structure, and social economy, and then summarizes the four stages of the community’s evolution being influenced by the tourism development, reveals the alienation crisis faced by the community, constructs the development dynamic mechanism of the community. Finally, integrating the value judgment and development dynamic mechanism of Kulangsu, this paper puts forward the future sustainable development strategy of Kulangsu.