The Political Economy of Ethnicity in Yunnan's Lijiang Basin

Research reveals that ethnic tourism in Lijiang, Yunnan, has intensified urban-rural divides and reshaped Naxi cultural identity. Longquan, now a hub for the 'Shuhe' tourism village complex, contrasts with Dayanzhen (Lijiang's old town), which was central to an earlier tourism boom. The study analyzes how post-1949 political economic shifts and changing representations of ethnicity, gender, rurality, and class have been experienced differently by residents in these two locales. By contextualizing large-scale domestic ethnic tourism within these divides, the research highlights its complex implications for state policies, popular culture, and local identity narratives.

White, S. D. (2010). The Political Economy of Ethnicity in Yunnan’s Lijiang Basin. The Asia Pacific Journal of Anthropology, 11(2), 142–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/14442211003727989