Cultural itineraries and heritage in China’s Guizhou province: Old paths and networks
China is putting increasing emphasis on new tourism strategies. This article examines the development of cultural routes and their importance in the heritage policy process and in projects conducted in Guizhou province. Who are the players involved and which projects best contribute to the introduction or communication of innovative governance practices or processes? Guizhou, a mountainous province in the south-west of the country, includes diverse minority population groups, including Miao, Dong, all with amazing cultures expressed in their music, embroidery, arts and crafts, architecture and approach to the landscape. Studies and research carried out in collaboration with our Shanghai partners examined both material and immaterial factors in heritage protection and promotion. The construction of infrastructure facilities has led to improved access to these isolated sites and to increased internationalization of communications about them. How can living conditions for the inhabitants of this region be improved and how can their increasingly fragile heritage cultures be protected in the face of powerful forces of social change, and dissemination by the media of a single model for modernization?