Celebration of Wealth and Emulation of Modernity: The Politics of Model Tourism in China's Richest Village
Yang, Han-Sun
This item is only available for download by members of the University of Illinois community. Students, faculty, and staff at the U of I may log in with your NetID and password to view the item. If you are trying to access an Illinois-restricted dissertation or thesis, you can request a copy through your library's Inter-Library Loan office or purchase a copy directly from ProQuest.
Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/85272
Description
Title
Celebration of Wealth and Emulation of Modernity: The Politics of Model Tourism in China's Richest Village
Author(s)
Yang, Han-Sun
Issue Date
2006
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Abelmann, Nancy A.
Department of Study
Anthropology
Discipline
Anthropology
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Sociology, General
Language
eng
Abstract
"Based on an ethnographic study of model tourism in Huaxi, a village known as China's richest village, I examine the transformation of sociocultural order in post-socialist China, which is reflected in the discourse of getting rich and the social practice of model emulation. Under Deng Xiaoping's theory, getting rich is glorious, and ""those who got rich first"" have become exemplary models who are supposed to be emulated by poor others. Huaxi is one of today's exemplary model villages, and it attracts a large number of tourists who seek to learn from its example. To understand Huaxi model tourism in terms of the transformation of social values, I analyze Huaxi in its historical context. I examine models that appeared in different historical periods, including Confucian models, Lei Feng, Dazhai, and Daqiuzhuang. My research shows that as an embodiment of the hegemonic values of a society, a model provides individuals with ""models for"" behavior and imagination. It also demonstrates that old models are denounced and mocked, while new models are honored, praised, envied, and emulated. Huaxi emerged as a model not because it was declared so by the state, but because its wealth began to attract widespread notice. In Huaxi, wealth is highly celebrated through various ways including public speeches, staged performances, and the display of luxury houses and cars. Many tourists, especially those from poor areas, visit Huaxi with the aspiration of obtaining these symbols of modernity. However, my analysis of the political economy of Huaxi tourism shows that regional disparity is both an outcome of and a precondition for China's prosperous coastal areas. Huaxi accumulated its wealth by employing cheap labor from poor areas. These migrant workers, who constitute the majority of the village population, are alienated from the wealth of Huaxi. Interestingly, migrant workers and sincere tourists share very similar socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds. Thus, I argue that today's model tourism is driven by the unrealistic desires of Chinese ""have-nots"" to emulate the symbols and trappings of China's rapidly burgeoning new capitalist class."
Use this login method if you
don't
have an
@illinois.edu
email address.
(Oops, I do have one)
IDEALS migrated to a new platform on June 23, 2022. If you created
your account prior to this date, you will have to reset your password
using the forgot-password link below.
