Bridging, Destabilisation, and Simulacrality

The Visual Rhetoric of Travel-Related Live Images on Xiaohongshu

Bibliographic Data

ID24232045
AuthorsFang Xie (0009-0003-8071-1004, Jiangsu Ocean University), Jun Tan (0000-0002-0288-2487, Qingdao University), Jiayi He (0009-0001-1461-5714, Jiangsu Ocean University)
Year2026
Pages1-18
Publication date2026-10-15
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of China Tourism Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1938-8160 • E-ISSN: 1938-8179
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/19388160.2026.2742421
OpenAlexW7221892835
LanguageEN
References cited16

As a visual form on contemporary social media platforms, Live Images transform the photographic instant into a short dynamic event through micro‐temporal extension and looped playback. When applied to travel imagery, this format doesn’t simply preserve a frozen scene, but foregrounds movement, temporal continuity, and visual detail in the presentation of travel experience, becoming a significant expressive pathway for travel imagery on digital platforms. Taking Xiaohongshu as a case study, this article conducts a content analysis of a purposive sample of highly engaged travel‐related Live Images posted between May 2024 and May 2025, with a sample of 772 images, and examines them from a visual rhetoric perspective. The findings suggest that travel Live Images tend to construct a rhetoric of presence, loosen the spatiotemporal closure associated with conventional still imagery, and organize travel experience through recurring visual tendencies related to bridging, destabilization, and simulacrality in platform‐based circulation.

Diverse Aspects of Tourism Research · Media and Digital Communication · Photography and Visual Culture

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