Geography

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Cultural Diversity and Tourism Development in

Yunnan Province, China

Chun-Shing Chow

To cite this article: Chun-Shing Chow (2005) Cultural Diversity and Tourism Development in
Yunnan Province, China, Geography, 90:3, 294-303, DOI: 10.1080/00167487.2005.12094142

To link to this article: https://doi.org/10.1080/00167487.2005.12094142

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GJ_90_03_294 30/9/05 12:05 pm Page 294
GEOGRAPHY THIS CHANGING WORLD
VOLUME 90(3)
PAGES 294-303 Cultural Diversity and
Tourism Development
in Yunnan Province,
Geography © 2005
China
CHUN-SHING CHOW
ABSTRACT: In historic times, Yunnan province
was considered remote and inaccessible. The
ethnic minorities in Yunnan have thus been
able to preserve their cultural traits and have
remained uniquely different from the Han
Chinese. In recent years, cultural diversities
in Yunnan have become a major attraction
for tourists and an important asset for the
development of tourism. Tourism has brought
in much revenue and created jobs. Yet at the
same time, tourism has resulted in frequent
interactions between Yunnan’s ethnic
minorities and peoples with other cultures,
resulting in drastic changes in the ways of life
of several nationalities. This article looks into
the intricate relationship between ethnic
cultures and tourism in Yunnan.
Introduction
INTERNATIONAL TOURISM HAS grown rapidly in
recent decades, and is now widely recognised as
one of the largest industries in the world.
According to the World Tourism Organisation
(2002), there were 693 million international
tourist arrivals in 2001, with the industry
generating US$462 billion. To a large extent,
tourism reflects economic development, with
relatively rich countries such as the USA, UK, and
France being associated with well-developed
tourism industries. However, in recent years,
international tourism has been spreading to other
nations as their economies and/or political
restraints have changed. In the past two decades,
East European countries, such as Poland and
294 Hungary, have opened up to greater travel, and
have also gained substantially in international
tourist arrivals and receipts (World Tourism
Organisation, 2002). Increases in international
arrivals have also occurred in eastern Asia,
including China. In the latter case, 33.2 million
arrivals were recorded in 2001, generating a
tourism receipt of US$17.8 billion (World Tourism
Organisation, 2002).
The increasing movement of holidaymakers
represents one aspect of a globalising world, and
shifts in relative accessibility brought on by
technological advances and infrastructural
developments. Few other economic activities are
comparable with tourism in terms of the variety of
its potential impacts on economic development
(roads, tourist facilities, employment), culture
(preservation or damage to local ways of life and
cultural values, impacts on heritage), and
environment (pollution, damage to ecosystems)
(Cater, 1995). Tourism developments often
involve interactions between the private and
public sectors and may, in some cases, introduce
conflicts of interest (Crevoshay, 2002). Political
ideologies can sometimes feel challenged by
exposure to ‘foreign’ ways and modern
consumerism (Picard and Wood, 1997).
International and regional tourism can
involve a self-sustaining cycle that may either
benefit or damage local socio-economic systems,
depending on how it is managed. For example,
tourism demand often leads to infrastructure
developments that reduce or end isolation of local
communities. Once access is gained to a ‘new’
region, further developments may follow,
increasing tourist numbers. Clearly, this will
benefit some, but not necessarily all. For example,
some local inhabitants might be moved from
scenic locations to make way for tourist
developments and access (Mastny, 2002). Tourism
development in remote areas can thus often be
controversial. Researchers and policy-makers
have long been concerned about the impacts of
tourism development on remote areas, especially
on issues relating to environmental sustainability,
the social and economic well-being of the local
people, as well as the preservation of indigenous
cultural heritage (see, for example, Azarya, 2004;
Briassoulis, 2002; Dearden, 1991; Grünewald,
2002; Kirstges, 2002).
The purpose of this article is to describe the
current cultural background of Yunnan (Figure 1)
and to point out the potential and real impacts of
tourism development on local minorities. Yunnan
is of interest, in this context, as it demonstrates
how changes in a territory’s relative location, or
ease of access, may have effects on its economic,
GJ_90_03_295 30/9/05 12:05 pm Page 295

Figure 1: Location map

Tibet of Yunnan. GEOGRAPHY
iver
Prefecture tze R
Sichuan Ya n g THIS CHANGING
Prefecture WORLD:
FOCUS ON
Zhongdian YUNNAN
Ninglang PROVINCE,
CHINA
Guizhou
Lijiang Prefecture
Geography © 2005
MYANMAR

Dali

Kunming Guangxi
Dianchi Prefecture
Yunnan
Prefecture

0 100
km N

Xishuangbanna VIETNAM
CHINA
International
Yunnan LAOS border

tourism, and cultural development. Yunnan is a
land-locked province on the south-western
margins of China and shares borders with
Myanmar (Burma), Lao (Laos), and Vietnam.
Topographically, the province (394,000 km2) is
extremely rugged, with 94% of the area being
comprised of mountains and high plateaus.
Altitudes range between 4000 and 5000m over
most of the terrain. Lowlands comprise the
remaining 6% of Yunnan and consist of deeply
incised valleys and a few small plains (Zhang,
1988). The imposing physical geography of
Yunnan has predetermined its relatively high
degree of isolation from the rest of China,
especially in historic times prior to the invention
and operation of modern means of
transportation.
Historically, Yunnan was a peripheral and
remote province, and the people of Yunnan were,
by and large, left alone by the rest of China. The
Han, the dominant ethnic group in China, mainly
penetrated into Yunnan along the lowland valleys
and occupied parts of the fertile plains. They were
mainly confined to political centres, accessible
locations, and military bases where Han soldiers
were stationed (Hao, 1998). Indigenous cultures
prevailed in remoter and more mountainous
areas. This isolation partly explains the multitude
of ethnic minority cultures in the province.
In the contemporary era, however, advances
in transportation have drastically transformed
the degree of accessibility. Today, Yunnan has
good air, rail, and road links to the rest of China
and the external world. Along with this change
in Yunnan’s relative location, the scenic beauty of
the province and its great variety of ethnic
cultures have attracted growing numbers of
domestic and international tourists. In 1998,
760,000 international tourists and 27.9 million
domestic tourists visited Yunnan, generating
revenues of US$261 million and 11.5 billion yuan
respectively for the province (Yunnan Economic
Yearbook, 1999).
295
GJ_90_03_296 5/10/05 1:27 pm Page 296

Table 1 Ethnic minorities

GEOGRAPHY Population data for ethnic groups in
THIS CHANGING Yunnan in 1998 in Yunnan
WORLD: Ethnicity 1998 population Percentage of
FOCUS ON (‘000) total population The relative isolation of Yunnan in the past has
YUNNAN in Yunnan facilitated the presence of large numbers of local
PROVINCE, Han 26,573.7 66.71 ethnic communities with distinctive and varied
CHINA Yi 4350.0 10.92 cultural practices. In 1998, Yunnan’s ethnic
Bai 1440.7 3.62 minorities numbered 13.79 million, accounting
Hani 1325.2 3.33
for over one-third of the total population in the
Geography © 2005 Zhuang 1089.2 2.73
province. Table 1, based on the government’s
Dai 1106.6 2.78
Miao 942.6 2.37 household registration system, shows population
Lisu 594.1 1.49 data for ethnic groups in Yunnan in 1998. Figure 2
Hui 593.4 1.49 illustrates the spatial distribution of the major
Lahu 421.2 1.06 minority groups.
Wa 366.4 0.92 The existence of such a great diversity of
Naxi 291.4 0.73 groups within a single province has made Yunnan
Jingpo 125.6 0.32 a fascinating place to explore. The way of life of
Yao 183.0 0.46 each of the ethnic minorities varies tremendously
Tibetan 119.9 0.30
from place to place, and from group to group. In
Bulang 87.7 0.22
a sense, each culture is unique and varies in terms
Achang 30.9 0.08
Nu 26.8 0.07 of language, religion, family structure and daily
Pumi 31.5 0.08 practices.
De’ang 17.0 0.04
Dulong
Mongolian
5.7
14.0
0.01
0.04
Language
Jinuo 18.3 0.05
Shui 8.8 0.02 With the exception of the Hui, who have adopted
Puyi 39.0 0.10 mandarin Chinese, all ethnic minorities in Yunnan
Others 22.8 0.06
use their own local languages. In some cases,
Total 41,438.0 100.00
languages vary spatially within cultural groups. For
Source: Yunnan Yearbook, 1999.

Tibet Legend
Sichuan
Prefecture Prefecture Achang nationality Miao nationality
Bai nationality Mongolian nationality
Bulang nationality Naxi nationality
Zhongdian Dai nationality Nu nationality
De'ang nationality Pumi nationality
Zhaotong
Lijiang Guizhou Dulong nationality Puyi nationality
MYANMAR Prefecture
Hani nationality Shui nationality
Dongchuan Hui nationality Tibetan nationality
Jingpo nationality Wa nationality
Dali Qujing Jinuo nationality Yao nationality
Kunming
Guangxi Lahu nationality Yi nationality
Bao shan Chuxiong Prefecture Lisu nationality Zhuang nationality
Mangshi
Yuxi

Lincang
International border

Gejiu
Wenshan
N
Simao Figure 2: Distribution of major
minority groups in Yunnan
(original cartography by Johnson
MYANMAR Jinghong VIETNAM
Yeung, Department of Geography,
296 0 100 Hong Kong Baptist University).
LAOS km
GJ_90_03_297 30/9/05 12:05 pm Page 297
Figure 3: A mural with Dongba pictographs in Lijiang old town. Photo: Johnson C.H. Yeung.
example, there are five different languages in use
among the Dai and four among the Naxi. Oral
traditions are often used to pass on local histories,
but the Yi, Bai, Naxi, Tibetan, and Dai peoples have
a documented heritage in studies of astronomy,
history, literature, and medicine.
Probably the most widely known ethnic
languages are spoken by the Naxi, in the Lijiang
area. This group includes the Dongba, religious
shamans who have played a major role in
traditional Naxi culture and its preservation. The
Dongba speak a language, developed around the
eleventh century AD, for the purpose of recording
and teaching religious rites (Yang, 1999). The
written form of the Dongba language is made up
of pictographic signs and is probably the only
surviving language in China that has retained such
an ancient character (Figure 3). This language has
never been extensively practiced, except among
the exclusive class of shaman within the Naxi. In
recent years, it has nearly become extinct, with
only a few aged shamans remaining, some of
whom have been helping the Dongba Cultural
Institute to translate the ancient texts into
standard Chinese.
Tourism development in Yunnan may be
proving a benefit for the ancient Dongba
language. Tourists find the pictographs fascinating
and of artistic value. Consequently, local
entrepreneurs make use of Dongba pictographs
in their designs for tourist products, such as
souvenirs, T-shirts, paintings, and folk art (Yang,
2001). The ‘rediscovery’ of the Dongba language
in the Lijiang area has made the language
fashionable and has induced some local people to
learn the language.
GEOGRAPHY
THIS CHANGING
WORLD:
FOCUS ON
YUNNAN
PROVINCE,
CHINA
Geography © 2005
Religion
Religious beliefs also vary tremendously between
and within the numerous ethnic minorities in
Yunnan. Most groups still preserve traits of
indigenous religions that used to thrive locally,
such as totemism, animism, and shamanism.
The Bai worship a number of deities who serve
as local protectors, although with Kwanyin
(Avalokitesvara), a Buddhist Bodhisattva, being
the most popular. The Naxi follow the Dongba
religion. Some Naxi and Bai believe in Chinese
Buddhism. Tibetans and a few Naxi believe in
Tibetan Buddhism. Most of the Dai, Bulang,
Achang, and De’ang follow Hinayana Buddhism.
The Hui believe in Islam. Some Jingpo, Lahu, Lisu,
Hani, Wa, Dulong, Miao, and Yi nationalities are
Protestants. A small number are Catholics.
Religious beliefs have exerted a tremendous
impact on the cultural heritage of Yunnan.
Temples were constructed with strict adherence
to religious principles. The Tibetan Buddhist
monastery in Zhongdian, for instance, was built in
such a way that it appears to be a replica of the
Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet (Figure 4). Elegant
statues of deities, such as the Kwanyin statue in
Dali (Figure 5), have been erected at sacred sites
that are now attracting tourists, whether they are
believers or otherwise. In Lijiang, commercial
ventures, such as restaurants, make use of
religious paintings of Dongba deities as icons to
attract local customers and tourists (Figure 6). 297
GJ_90_03_298 30/9/05 12:05 pm Page 298

GEOGRAPHY Family structure

THIS CHANGING
WORLD: Family traditions among some minorities, such as
FOCUS ON the Naxi, differ from those normally practiced by
YUNNAN most Chinese citizens. For example, it is
PROVINCE, customary that the male shares the household
CHINA chores with the female (Figure 7). Traditional
marital systems vary tremendously between
minority groups. These include monogamy, but
Geography © 2005 also include polygamy, polyandry, and ‘group
marriage’. The latter involves no formal marriage,
Figure 4: Tibetan Buddhist monastery in Zhongdian, Yunnan.
but a situation where people live promiscuously,
having sexual relationships with many partners.
However, since the 1950s, government policies
and the influence of the Han have tended to
favour increasing monogamy, which has gradually
been adopted as the norm by most groups.
The Mosuo, in the Ninglang area in northern
Yunnan, adhere to an ancient matriarchal
marriage system known as Azu. Group marriage is
practiced, with inheritance passing through the
female line and the mother acting as the head of

Figure 5: Statue of Kwanyin (Avalokitesvara) in Dali.

Photo: K.K. Wong.

Figure 6: Restaurant decorated with Dongba deities in Lijiang.

298 Figure 7: In contrast to other parts of China, the Naxi males

take a greater share of household responsibilities.
GJ_90_03_299 30/9/05 12:05 pm Page 299
the family. Couples live separately in their
mothers’ family homes (McKhann, 1996; Yan and
Song, 1991; Yuan, 2000; Zhou, 2001). The
retention of this system partly reflects the remote
location of the Mosuo and their isolation from
outside ‘modern’ influences. Chinese
anthropologists began to conduct ethnographic
studies of this nationality in the late 1950s, but
knowledge about the Mosuo was by and large
constrained to only a few academic circles (Yan
and Song, 1991). In the 1980s, the mass media
developed an interest in the Mosuo and
publicised their traditions widely within China,
labelling them romantically as ‘the Kingdom of the
Daughters’. These stories, in turn, led to a
‘curiosity value’ being placed on their traditions,
which resulted in an increase in tourist visits.
Chinese tourists began to travel to the Ninglang
area in the late 1980s, and the tourism industry
has now become a major source of income for the
Mosuo (Zhou, 2001).
Implications of cultural
diversity
Yunnan is a ‘poor’ province. In terms of economic
development, it lags behind most others,
especially those provinces along the coast in
eastern and south-eastern China. In 1998, the per
capita gross domestic product (GDP) in Yunnan
was 4355 yuan, ranking twenty-fifth among the
31 provinces and autonomous regions in China
(Yunnan Yearbook, 1999). Incomes for rural
households remain low. In 1999, the per capita net
income of rural households in Yunnan was 1437
yuan, considerably below the national figure of
2210 yuan (China Statistical Yearbook, 2000).
Members of the ethnic minorities are probably the
poorest inhabitants, given that most of these
groups traditionally live in mountainous and
remote areas. In 1984, 12 million people were
considered as being poverty stricken in Yunnan, of
whom 78% were ethnic minorities (Shi, 1998). In
2002, the deputy secretary of the Communist
Party of China (CPC) Yunnan Provincial
Committee, Wang Xueren, conceded that of the
43 million people in Yunnan, one-quarter were
poverty stricken, and that the peasants in the
province earned an average annual income of only
1500 yuan (US$180), at least 700 yuan (US$85)
below the national average. Moreover, the poorest
people among Yunnan’s poverty-stricken
population were concentrated in ethnic minority
and border areas, or in regions disadvantaged by
their natural conditions (Xinhua News Agency, 2 GEOGRAPHY
December 2002). THIS CHANGING
The great diversity of cultural practices WORLD:
among the many minorities in Yunnan has far- FOCUS ON
reaching implications for academic research and YUNNAN
policy studies. Firstly, the existence of the many PROVINCE,
minority groups makes Yunnan a good base for CHINA
cultural studies, promising clues about human
and cultural development. Secondly, the cultural
traits and artifacts of the minorities, and the Geography © 2005
province’s natural beauty, have led to Yunnan
being an attractive place for tourists and an ideal
locality for the development of a tourism industry.
The development of tourism in Yunnan has,
nevertheless, brought about drastic changes to
the economy and lifestyle of many minority
groups, especially those in areas that were
previously inaccessible.
Tourism has brought in large amounts of
capital, promoted development, and created
numerous jobs for the people of Yunnan. In 1998,
the provincial government invested 3.1 billion
yuan to improve the highways, and spent over 100
million yuan on public works in the major tourist
areas (Yunnan Economic Yearbook, 1999). Such
investments have not only benefited private
developers and public institutions, but also large
numbers of people among the ethnic minorities
who have increased their incomes either directly
or indirectly from the resulting boom in tourism.
By the end of 2001, the number of enterprises and
corporations dealing with tourism in Yunnan had
grown to over 9300, involving an input of funding
from the state, collectives, private individuals, and
foreign investors (Shao 2002). Along with the
development of tourism, new non-farm jobs have
been created, such as those in travel agencies,
entertainment facilities, hotels and restaurants.
Large numbers of the minority peoples are
employed as tour guides (Figure 8), stage
Figure 8: A girl of the Bai nationality working as a tour guide.
Photo: K.K. Wong.
299
GJ_90_03_300 4/10/05 11:32 am Page 300
performers (Figure 9), transport workers,
GEOGRAPHY restaurant waiters and cooks, or in gift shops
THIS CHANGING specialising in cultural artifacts and souvenirs for
WORLD: tourists (Figures 10 and 11). To pursue personal
FOCUS ON profits from the booming tourist industry, in
YUNNAN Lijiang, for instance, many local families have
PROVINCE, converted their homes into hotels, restaurants
CHINA and internet cafes. In 2000, Lijiang received 3
million visitors, earning the town some 1.5 billion
yuan, and providing employment for over 30,000
Geography © 2005 people (Asian Economic News, 18 June 2001).
Tourism has greatly modified the natural
and cultural ecology of the province. Modern
development, such as the construction of
highways, hotels, theme parks, golf courses, and
Figure 9: Performers of the Bai nationality on the stage, Dali.
Figure 10: Yi nationality women preparing costume for
tourists, Stone Forest, Kunming.
related infrastructure, has resulted in urbanisation
and the depletion of the natural landscape. There
is, for instance, considerable concern that
tourism development has increasingly damaged
300 the natural environment of fragile wetlands,
grasslands and mountainous areas in Yunnan’s
Figure 11: Local minority groups often rush to offer souvenirs
to tourists. Photo: K.K. Wong.
Zhongdian and Lijiang Counties (Crevoshay,
2002). Increases in the numbers of visitors have
created additional pressures related to the
provision of social amenities, such as sewerage
and water supply. Moreover, commercialisation
has changed the lifestyle and social values of
minority groups.
In Xishuangbanna, in south-western Yunnan,
for instance, tourism has brought in the influence
of both Han and western cultures, and has been
rapidly depleting the ethnic culture of the Dai
nationality. The Dai people form the major ethnic
group in Xishuangbanna. Since the territory was
first opened up to tourists in the 1980s, as
observed by Yang (2001):
❝ large numbers of visitors have been pouring in from
elsewhere. Han culture and western culture have been
most rapidly spreading in Banna, and the pace of
cultural transformation has been astonishingly fast.
Fewer and fewer Dai people are wearing clothes in Dai
style. In most Dai villages, the traditional bamboo Dai
houses have vanished and been replaced by Han-style
brick houses or structures built with reinforced
concrete… Although stores selling souvenirs at tourist
areas are numerous, most of the commodities sold in
the market were manufactured, and imported from,
elsewhere. Items that genuinely reflect the indigenous
ethnic culture are rare (2001, p. 22).
GJ_90_03_301 30/9/05 12:06 pm Page 301
In Lijiang, the Dongba religion and its
pictographic signs are of considerable appeal to
tourists. Dongba antiquities, such as paintings of
Dongba deities and sutras in pictograph, have
become collectable items. The locals sell these
items to whoever will pay, resulting in the loss of a
large number of cultural artifacts from the
territory. Yang (2001) has noted that the
emergence of tourist interest in the Dongba
culture, in Nijiang, has contributed not to the
preservation, but rather to the destruction of the
Naxi people’s ethnic heritage.
In the Ninglang area, the Mosuo people’s
tradition of group marriage has been at risk ever
since the opening up of their territory to tourism.
The expansion of tourism and the consequent
increase in interaction with non-indigenous
people has led the Mosuo to question their own
marriage system. Being lured by the projected
images of romance and the ‘Kingdom of
daughters’, most tourists go to Ninglang to look
for free sex without any understanding of the
cultural and historical meanings of the Mosuo
marriage system. To avoid being perceived as
promiscuous or sexually exotic, the Mosou are
feeling pressures to modify their group marriage
system, and to conform to the mainstream
Chinese norm of monogamy (Zhou, 2001).
To abandon the custom of group marriage,
however, means an abandonment of the cultural
uniqueness of the Mosuo nationality, a loss of its
appeal to tourists, and a potential loss of
economic benefits that the ethnic group might
gain from tourism. The tourist industry has put
the Mosuo at a crossroads. They are confronted by
the dilemma of where to go: to develop tourism
further for materialistic and economic gains at the
expense of their cultural identity, or to preserve
their cultural uniqueness at the cost of remaining
isolated from the external world.
Marginalisation of
ethnic minorities
Tourism development has not only threatened the
cultural heritage of ethnic minorities in Yunnan,
but has also intensified the degree of marginality
of minority peoples. Tourism in Yunnan has
generated jobs and provided business
opportunities for large numbers of ethnic
minorities. Nevertheless, many of these jobs are in
the service sector and are menial and of low
status, catering for the enjoyment and
entertainment of predominantly Han tourists. The
situation in Yunnan is not too different from the GEOGRAPHY
situation that Azarya observed among Maasai THIS CHANGING
pastoral groups in Kenya and Tanzania in which WORLD:
tourism: FOCUS ON
YUNNAN
❝ generates new sources of income for indigenous people
as service workers in the tourism industry as well as the PROVINCE,
opportunity of becoming tourism exhibits themselves, CHINA
selling souvenirs, being photographed, opening their
camps and villages to visitors, putting on shows of
dances, ceremonies, traditional food, art, customs, etc. Geography © 2005
While these latter activities incorporate those people in
the new economy, they also ‘freeze’ them culturally at
the margin of society since it is their marginality that
they exhibit and sell for profit (2004, p.949).
Moreover, the marginalisation of ethnic cultures
reflects the existing imbalance in power between
the dominant Han people and the subordinate
minorities in China (Davis, 2001; Oakes, 1995).
Tourism development is orchestrated by
governmental organs for the purpose of
generating as much revenue and accommodating
as many visitors as possible. Concerns about
environmental, biological, and cultural
preservation are at best regarded as of secondary
importance (Crevoshay, 2002). Cultural activities,
such as festivals and stage performances, are
adapted and modified in such ways that they can
best suit the needs and the tastes of tourists,
rather than preserving the original intent of such
activities (Davis, 2001). In Lijiang, for instance,
religious rites that used to be performed when
worshiping Dongba deities are condensed and
transformed into dances and shows that are
performed on the stage at hourly intervals so as to
fit into the tight schedules of tourist itineraries.
The function of such performances has become
entertaining and profit making, rather than
religious.
Conclusion
Tourism can be beneficial and deleterious at the
same time. Geographic isolation and
inaccessibility promote cultural uniqueness in
distant communities. However, advances in
transport and communication have greatly
improved people’s abilities to overcome distance
and to surmount the hindrance imposed by
difficult terrains on human mobility. The
movements of tourists from one area to another,
regionally or internationally, facilitate interactions
between people with different cultural values and 301
social norms, and induce inter-cultural exchanges.
GJ_90_03_302 30/9/05 12:06 pm Page 302
For better or worse, tourism is a catalyst for
GEOGRAPHY cultural change.
THIS CHANGING In today’s world, travel between places has
WORLD: become far more affordable. Changes in the
relative location of faraway places will probably
FOCUS ON
YUNNAN lead to changes in many dimensions of human
PROVINCE, culture. The opening up of ethnic communities in
CHINA Yunnan to tourists has benefited the minority
people in materialistic terms, but has at the same
time subjected ethnic cultures to the risk of being
Geography © 2005 homogenised by commercialism and the
mainstream culture of the Han Chinese.
Many people would regret the assimilation of
minority cultures into the mainstream and might
wish to ‘protect’ such groups from outside
influences. However, such an approach raises
difficult ethical questions about who should
decide whether minorities should be exposed to
these risks, given that potential benefits also exist.
The best approach may be to let the minorities
decide their own future, based on information on
past cross-cultural links and a knowledge of socio-
economic impacts. No other people, except the
minority groups themselves, can best determine
the destiny of their own cultures.
It would be difficult to be certain, however,
whether and when the minorities in Yunnan can
decide for themselves. Tourism brings in new
incomes for the minorities, but at the same time
reinforces the existing imbalance in power
between the dominant Han and peripheral ethnic
groups. To thrive on tourism, ethnic minorities in
Yunnan will have to maintain their ‘otherness’ and
distinctive differences from Han people, and yet at
the same time be subservient to the tastes and
needs of tourists who are by and large
predominantly Han Chinese. As tourism becomes
more and more important to the local economy of
ethnic groups, the tangible and materialistic
benefits derived from the display and selling of
local clothing, art, handicrafts, folk songs, and
stage performances, are likely to increase and
become more evident. The intangible and
ideological dimension of ethnic cultures,
however, including, for example, religious beliefs,
might have to be drastically transformed, giving
way to the need of tourists. The materialistic
products of indigenous practices are likely to
survive the development of tourism, but the more
subtle and intangible aspects of ethnic cultures,
especially the ideological foundations, may be
lost. The threat of tourism is, therefore, not one of
total extinction of ethnic traditions, but rather, the
302 transformation of ethnicities into materialistic
cultures without their original soul.
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Geography © 2005
Chun-Shing Chow was Associate Professor in the Department of
Geography at the Hong Kong Baptist University when the paper
was submitted. He retired from the position in 2004. He can be
reached at eddieschow@hotmail.com

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