The Nanjing Case (Jiangsu Province)

First and foremost, local governments have to adhere to certain ICH policies from above, such as the creation of ICH lists and an ICH inheritor system. In order to implement such a system, Nanjing established an expert group in 2006 to select ICH for local inscription. Additionally, an “expert steering group” (zhuānjiā zhǐdǎo zǔ) comprising local scholars in charge of leading, inspecting, and approving all ICH-related survey work was implemented, which possibly served to supervise the expert group. ^{Footnote 63} To comply with superordinate policies, local governments relied on these experts to draft a local policy solution.

The ICH experts also assisted in recommending new ICH strategies. Nanjing municipality had undertaken various initiatives of its own. To promote its ICH nationally, it launched a television show called Jinling Folklore in 2007. ^{Footnote 64} In 2011, the Bureau of Culture issued a Five-Year Cultural Development Plan that stipulated the establishment of a “municipal ICH cultural environment protection zone” (shì fēiwùzhí wénhuà yíchǎn shēngtài bǎohù qū) and the further promotion of ICH abroad via “China Culture Years.” ^{Footnote 65} Although the development of cultural tourism was called for in 2005, ^{Footnote 66} the use of ICH as a cultural tourism resource was not explicitly referred to until later governmental papers.

The case of Nanjing demonstrates how municipal governments can adhere to superordinate policy directives while also producing independent policies to promote the locality. Going beyond the requirements stipulated at the national level, the city independently promulgated the locality on a national level (television show) and on an international level (“China Culture Years”). Furthermore, Nanjing municipality seems to have focused separately on ICH safeguarding and cultural tourism. While the municipality promoted cultural tourism in 2005, ^{Footnote 67} it was not included in the 2011 five-year plan, ^{Footnote 68} even though the MOC’s policies explicitly addressed the advancement of ICH tourism in 2009. ^{Footnote 69} Through the fragmented nature of the policy process, local governments were able to promote their locality vis-à-vis domestic or international audiences.

When local governments use their leeway to develop such independent policy approaches, they may rely on other localities’ experiences, which are communicated vertically and horizontally, or they may take expert knowledge into consideration. In its policy documents, Nanjing’s Bureau of Culture frequently refers to the inclusion of expert knowledge in the development of ICH safeguarding and tourism, which points to the existence of a scholar–government network. In addition to participating in government-organized expert steering groups, local experts have published recommendations to support the local government in developing local ICH. Wang Xi, a researcher at the Jiangsu Drama School in Nanjing, has proposed the establishment of a financial, legal, and administrative safeguarding system for developing ICH activities as a tourism resource. Government subsidies and a portion of ICH tourism industry revenues are to be used to promote the tourism industry and safeguard ICH legally. ICH safeguarding is to be enhanced through new laws and the clear definition of the legal responsibilities of all of the government departments involved. Furthermore, the local government is to establish a sound administrative safeguarding system that implements common procedures for ICH-related work. Thus, Wang argues for strengthening existing governmental institutions and procedures and, at the same time, legitimizing local politics. Moreover, Wang proposes further developing the performing arts, museums, and souvenir markets in order to finance these safeguarding systems, ^{Footnote 70} thus leveraging her scholarly expertise as an economist to benefit the local government’s interest in advancing the local tourism industry. Finally, she recognizes the potential of ICH tourism revenue for ICH safeguarding, while emphasizing that this mutual benefit can only be sustained by effective legal and administrative measures. This latter recommendation confirms the government’s responsibility in generating revenues and promoting the local region.

An academic from the Communications University of China in Nanjing, Xu Congyao, concentrates on improving souvenir products to promote and safeguard ICH. She suggests developing products for daily use and with a distinct local style, as well as the creation of a distinct local brand and a marketing strategy that will develop brand consciousness. In her eyes, the local government can offer essential support by enhancing legal protection of ICH and cooperating with universities to ensure that more personnel trained in ICH safeguarding are “in reserve.” ^{Footnote 71} By emphasizing governmental competencies and the possibility of generating revenue from tourism, Xu uses her expertise on location branding to legitimize her claim vis-à-vis the local government. Ultimately, both researchers contribute to the ICH strategies available to the government, thus presenting opportunities for the local government to advance its position domestically and internationally.

The Changzhou Case (Jiangsu Province)

In contrast to the provincial capital of Nanjing, Changzhou municipality has actively promoted tourism for ICH safeguarding from an early stage. While its earlier policies, in 2003 and 2004, concentrated on renovating historical streets, ^{Footnote 72} Changzhou has issued numerous policies for safeguarding ICH since 2005. Initially, the city’s Bureau of Culture attempted to safeguard local ICH through safeguarding projects, ^{Footnote 73} whereas its Bureau of Tourism focused on promoting tourism by demonstrating ICH in “cultural representative zones” (wénhuà dàibiǎoxìng jǐngqū). ^{Footnote 74} Later, this emphasis on using tourism for ICH safeguarding shifted to a greater focus on cultural tourism in general, as exemplified by the launch of “Changzhou’s year of cultural tourism” in 2010. ^{Footnote 75} From the available ICH strategies, Changzhou has thus opted for emphasizing tourism in its local ICH policy.

With the help of an expert committee established in 2005, ^{Footnote 76} the Changzhou government not only set up ICH representative lists and an ICH inheritors system but also established an “ICH museum,” an “ICH protection project center” (Chángzhōu shì fēiwùzhí wénhuà yíchǎn bǎohù gōngchéng zhōngxīn), and an “ICH exhibition center” (Chángzhōu fēiyí zhǎnshì guǎn) within the University of Changzhou. ^{Footnote 77} In 2011, focusing on the specific features of its local culture, the city founded a cultural industry zone in the Yunhe area. ^{Footnote 78} And in 2012, Jiangsu province’s Bureau of Culture recommended that Changzhou establish “demonstration bases for productive ICH protection,” which the city has begun to put into practice. ^{Footnote 79} Interestingly, in the same year, the municipality also announced its intention to enhance its cultural soft power by promoting its TCH and ICH abroad. ^{Footnote 80} The Changzhou government has thus co-operated with experts in order to enhance its ICH-related policy work and to increase its competitiveness for provincial policy experimentation.

Although Changzhou has followed superordinate policies, many of them were adopted after the city had already issued its own comparable policies at an earlier stage. Its adoption of policies to promote ICH safeguarding through tourism in 2005 as well as its 2012 policies on ICH as a cultural soft power resource exemplify the municipality’s individual policy approach. Here again, the rationale seems to originate from the national and international promotion of the locality in order to enhance the city’s standing among China’s regions and provinces. This independent approach can again be potentially explained by government–scholar interaction, since the municipalities are obliged to organize expert committees and may use them for policy adoption and implementation. The fact that the city has adopted policies precisely fostering the Yunhe cultural area—a common recommendation in local academic articles—suggests that scholarly–governmental networks do in fact play a role in local decision making.

Alongside this type of policy development, Changzhou academics have recommended that the city’s traditional comb manufacture, which is listed at the national level, be utilized as an ICH tourism resource. In 2009, Liu Song, Ma Jingqing, and Lü Dongyang of the Changzhou Institute of Technology (School of Economics and Management) argued for greater governmental and industrial commitment in advancing ICH tourism. In their opinion, the government should enhance its leadership and promote an industrial development model by establishing a leading small group (lǐngdǎo xiǎozǔ) on ICH tourism and engaging in dialogue with stakeholders. In arguing for the establishment of a small group, the authors made use of official strategies to legitimize their claims vis-à-vis the local government. This recommendation seems particularly significant as the ad hoc creation of leading groups at the national and subnational levels has become an official instrument for tackling the horizontal fragmentation of bureaucratic interests and re-establishing vertical control. Finally, ICH safeguarding is also to be furthered by raising public awareness and enhancing participation in ICH-related activities, ^{Footnote 81} a strategy frequently referred to in the UNESCO Convention. Scholars have thus attempted to enhance their standing vis-à-vis the government by legitimizing their expertise through the integration of official strategies as well as domestic and international discourses into their policy advice.

Song Bin, a researcher at Jiangsu Teachers University of Technology in Changzhou (School of Humanities and Social Science) has evaluated Changzhou’s traditional comb industry as a tourism resource. In his 2012 article, he highlights previous achievements of the municipal government in promoting Changzhou’s comb market and proposes further steps. Since 1987, the city has not only invested heavily in the Changzhou tourism industry but has also published an extensive five-year plan to further its traditional comb industry. According to this plan, the tourism bureau is to establish a new folk museum focusing on ICH and a “demonstration base for productive ICH protection,” which would see the municipality become a AA tourism site. ^{Footnote 82} While Song applauds these governmental measures, he also proposes the appropriation of the national listing of combs and other local ICH in order to promote Yunhe River culture. ^{Footnote 83} Song thus substantiates his claim and expertise by basing his recommendations on previous government activities and depicting ways to maximize the local government’s status in communal politics. Song’s article appears to indicate the existence of strong government–scholar networks since it promotes his own ideas by praising governmental actions.

The Fuzhou Case (Fujian Province)

In Fujian province, Fuzhou municipality launched a number of folk culture and cultural tourism activities during the first years of the century that mirrored Fujian province’s 1999 ICH regulations. ^{Footnote 84} This resemblance changed in 2006, when Fuzhou’s municipality issued a document entitled “Fuzhou Municipality’s Executive Opinion on Strengthening Protection Work on Intangible Cultural Heritage.” In this document, the municipality, in addition to following national stipulations, independently outlined its “ICH tourism” promotion measures. Cultural tourism, which was to include tangible and intangible cultural resources, was to be promoted by creating a cultural tourism brand. ^{Footnote 85} Notably, although the local government independently used the concept “ICH tourism,” the term ceased to be mentioned in subsequent governmental documents. From 2007 to 2012, Fuzhou promoted ICH safeguarding and tourism development by establishing a new art school, new municipal libraries, and new museums as well as by submitting more applications for entries to the national ICH list. Starting in 2008, the city advanced cultural tourism by advertising local Minnan culture in special tourism zones. ^{Footnote 86} Finally, and in conformance with national government documents, Fuzhou took up the “ICH tourism” concept in its five-year plan on cultural industry development, which stated, among other things, that ICH tourism should be promoted through academic research and “cultural environment protection zones.” ^{Footnote 87} Through focusing its local ICH policies on tourism, Fuzhou has promoted location branding.

ICH experts seem to contribute to the drafting of these policy variants. While many of Fuzhou’s ICH-related policies are derived from national directives, the 2006 regulations on ICH tourism are unique and could be based on scholarly recommendations. Since the concepts of folklore cultural tourism and ICH tourism have been discussed in scholarly articles but were absent from the superordinate strategies, this could point to the potential inclusion of concepts and strategies originating from within scholar–government networks. The local government has a number of recommendations from which to choose. Cai Chaoshuang, a junior researcher from Fujian Normal University, has been particularly vocal in recommending ways to use Fuzhou’s ICH resources to promote local cultural tourism, publishing a total of three articles on the topic in 2009, 2010, and 2011. In 2009, she and her co-author Bai Rushan applied the resources, markets, and products (RMP) method to explore the locality’s ICH resources, tourism market, and available tourism products. For the sake of sustainable tourism development, they recommended that authorities strengthen leadership, legal protection, and policies and that they reduce overlaps in responsibilities between governmental departments. ^{Footnote 88}

Cai and Bai thus based their claim on a scholarly concept of “economist expertise”—the RMP method—to legitimize local politics by calling for strengthened local leadership. One year later, Cai emphasized the employment of tangible and intangible cultural resources through the combination of a “static model” of ICH tourism focused on ICH museums with a “dynamic model” that promotes participatory activities. ^{Footnote 89} In doing so, she made use of international concepts on ICH safeguarding to justify her claim. ^{Footnote 90} In her 2012 article, Cai innovatively adapted social science concepts to argue for the creation of a public space and a private space separated by a “barrier.” In the private space, tourists could join ICH tourism activities, while the private space would be reserved for the sustainable safeguarding and development of ICH. ^{Footnote 91} Cai’s articles make numerous innovative recommendations that simultaneously apply foreign and domestic concepts while also considering existing official strategies in local government directives. While she applies the RMP model, which is commonly found in Chinese academia, ^{Footnote 92} to legitimize her claim regarding local government action, Cai’s appropriation of international research authorizes her claims on the basis of foreign concepts.

The Quanzhou Case (Fujian Province)

In Quanzhou, the municipal government has also been strongly engaged in promoting its ICH tourism industry from an early stage. Quanzhou individually issued regulations on ICH promotion in 2003 by referring to UNESCO’s Proclamation of Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage of Humanity. ^{Footnote 93} In 2005, the development of cultural tourism became the local government’s focus, with cultural activities such as festivals, museums, or the “Quanzhou culture week” promoted as a tourism resource. In 2007, Quanzhou succeeded in enlisting Nanyin music as an official UNESCO ICH item. A year later, the MOC selected the city to be part of the first “Minnan cultural environment protection experimental zone.” Since then, local government papers have frequently mentioned Minnan culture as a means of increasing “cultural soft power,” especially in relation to Taiwanese tourists. ^{Footnote 94} Meanwhile, Quanzhou launched additional tourism zones from 2011 to 2012 and established an ICH research center in 2013. In the same year, the Quanzhou government published its first policy on “combining culture and tourism” by explicitly mentioning ICH tourism in what was a clear derivative of the 2009 MOC document. ^{Footnote 95}

The examination of Quanzhou exemplifies once more how local governments adopt national directives while, at the same time, using scholarly expertise to modify them. In this case, the early decision to promote regional cultural tourism demonstrates an independent attempt, potentially inspired by scholarly studies, to advance its locality. In addition, the Quanzhou government has individually applied concepts discussed at the national level—namely, “cultural soft power”—to promote its national standing by pointing out its value in enhancing cross-strait ties. Thus, Quanzhou’s policy variant has concentrated on the promotion and protection of Minnan culture for the sake of location branding and obtaining a good standing nationally.

In Quanzhou, a variety of local scholars have recommended the promotion of Nanyin music, supposedly one of the country’s oldest musical genres and listed with UNESCO, for local ICH tourism development. Examining this subject, Chen Jinhua, vice-director of the College of Tourism at Huaqiang University in Quanzhou, and Zhuang Zhibin, a researcher from the School for Environmental Planning in Kaifeng, Henan province, again use the RMP method to discuss practical strategies for promoting Quanzhou’s tourism resources, such as using Putonghua (standard Chinese) in Nanyin music. Furthermore, they repeat many of Cai’s “best practices”—for instance, creating tourism products such as tourist routes and souvenirs or increasing advertising. ^{Footnote 96} Similarly to Cai, Chen and Zhuang apply a domestic scholarly concept, the RMP method, to substantiate their claim. In addition, they advocate the stronger commercialization of Nanying music to fully make use of its status for local tourism development—a goal that local governments avidly pursue.

In his article of 2010, Huang Yijun, a junior scholar at Quanzhou Normal University, reiterates some of the abovementioned claims but emphasizes the interactive and participative character of ICH tourism. By enabling tourists to participate in local ICH activities, the local government can establish an ICH tourism brand that could function as a pilot project for subsequent regional adoption. ^{Footnote 97} In making this recommendation, Huang considers, on the one hand, the local government’s incentives to respond to superordinate initiatives in implementing its own creative measures such as a pilot project. In doing so, he demonstrates the value of his approach in helping the government maximize its standing in local politics. On the other hand, he supports his argument by alluding to international discourses on the participation and inclusion of locals and tourists.

In sum, while local governments do adhere to national stipulations, all the cases examined here have gone beyond these stipulations in order to successfully compete with other governmental units, both vertically and horizontally. Local scholars supply recommendations to local governments with the aim of maximizing local resources and standing. By interacting within symbiotic networks, officials and scholars have cooperatively utilized national and international incentive structures. When adopting national policies locally, subordinate government levels have employed officially sanctioned concepts and strategies to legitimize their own policies and/or to apply for pilot projects. Ultimately, they are seeking political power and financial support from the national government. In addition, local governments have frequently enhanced their reputation among foreign audiences, thus increasing their political power domestically. In their pursuit of power, they may have appropriated local knowledge to legitimize their activities through scientific expertise. In doing so, these local governments have exploited the “cleavages inside China’s structure of power” to develop their own strategies and policies, thereby blending national directives with scholarly recommendations. ^{Footnote 98}

Similarly, ICH experts have specific incentives to participate in local government activities. They offer scholarly expertise and thus gain social legitimacy themselves. These experts rely on well-known Chinese or international scientific methods as well as on official state frames to pursue their interests and legitimize their claims vis-à-vis the government. ^{Footnote 99} Since scholars and government representatives both strive to secure legitimacy and power, they form highly symbiotic networks, and their claims mutually reinforce each other. The incentives for co-operation inside these symbiotic networks are both material and symbolic. On the one hand, scholars have a symbolic incentive to become members of governmental expert groups as they acquire prestige and social legitimacy. Moreover, this membership allows scholars with an intrinsic motivation to safeguard local ICH to participate in ICH safeguarding and promotion. On the other hand, the local government co-opts experts for its local ICH policy formulation and implementation, using the latter’s expertise to gain permission to establish pilot zones or to strengthen local tourism branding. Furthermore, the symbiotic network as a whole is a means with which to strengthen local governmental leadership vis-à-vis various other actors, both horizontally and vertically. In this sense, the co-optation of experts into the local policy process could also be regarded as a strategy to counter the side effects of China’s fragmented authoritarianism, including the frictions and overlapping competencies between various administrative levels and bureaucratic organs at the same level of the hierarchy.