Taijiquan, genius loci and tourism: a participant observation about Chenjiagou

This essay analyses the key concepts enunciated by the international literature on martial arts tourism – and of the even broader category of cultural tourism. It combines notes produced by a participant observation and the images produced by the first author himself. The result is the illustration...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Sergio Raimondo, Laura Rea, Yong-shun Wang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de León 2022-02-01
Series:Revista de Artes Marciales Asiáticas
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revpubli.unileon.es/ojs/index.php/artesmarciales/article/view/7029
Description
Summary:This essay analyses the key concepts enunciated by the international literature on martial arts tourism – and of the even broader category of cultural tourism. It combines notes produced by a participant observation and the images produced by the first author himself. The result is the illustration of a particular case of martial arts tourism included in the decade 2009-2018 and focused on Chenjiagou (Chen village), a village in inland China (Wen county, Henan province, People's Republic of China). Here tourists – attracted by the peculiar spirit of the place, genius loci, expressed in the landscape and in the local customs and reinforced by recurring or occasional celebrations – are contributing to the local economic development and urban improvement, by creating an informal planetary-scale network through the common interest in the martial art of taijiquan.
ISSN:2174-0747