Unesco and the politics of cultural heritage in Tibet

Bibliographic Data

ID3986458
AuthorsRobert Shepherd (0000-0001-9669-3697, George Washington University, corresponding author)
Year2006
Volume36
Issue2
Pages243-257
Publication date2006-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Contemporary Asia (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0047-2336 • E-ISSN: 1752-7554
PublisherInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/00472330680000141
OpenAlexW1999957114
LanguageEN
Citations received31
References cited22

This article examines United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) cultural heritage policies and Chinese state-directed tourism policies in contemporary Tibet. It begins with a brief overview of the tourism industry in Tibet, and moves to a discussion of UNESCO's focus on the preservation of world cultural sites in the name of universal values, noting how this aids state claims to authority over culture as a tool in state-building in places such as Tibet and Indonesia. The article then examines the effects state tourism policies have had on specific Tibetan sites, based on field visits to Lhasa and Shigatse in 2001 and 2002 and Xiahe (Gansu Province) in 2004. In a word, the Potala Palace, as a world cultural heritage and a place of religious activities, has drawn the attention of the world. With the deepening of the reform, opening and modermization drive and along with the implementation of the going-west strategy, the Potala Palace has become a treasure of the world. - Potala Palace Management Office (2002) Keywords : Tibet UNESCO World Heritage tourism China Indonesia

Archaeology · China · Cultural heritage · Cultural heritage management · Economy · Geography · Heritage tourism · Industrial heritage · Political science · Politics · State (computer science · Tourism · Treasure · World heritage · China's Ethnic Minorities and Relations · Law · Southeast Asian Sociopolitical Studies · Vietnamese History and Culture Studies

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