Tourist perceptions and living heritage experiences in Nanjing Tulou traditional villages, Fujian, China: A social media data analysis

Tourists' perceptions of living heritage experiences at Nanjing Tulou, part of China's Fujian Tulou World Heritage Site, are shaped by landscape features, village impressions, and service quality, with service-related issues dominating negative evaluations. A study analyzing 15 years of visitor reviews from Ctrip and Dianping revealed that while overall sentiment is positive, concerns about over-commercialization, accessibility, ticketing, interpretation, and service management persist. The research introduces the Culture-Service Symbiosis framework, highlighting how tourism services act as both a cultural decoder and authenticity buffer in living heritage destinations. This approach combines high-frequency word analysis, semantic network analysis, sentiment analysis, and stage-based topic-evolution analysis to uncover nuanced insights into tourist experiences.

Zhang, Y., Li, X., Zhang, R., Liao, Q., & Wang, J. (2026). Tourist perceptions and living heritage experiences in Nanjing Tulou traditional villages, Fujian, China: A social media data analysis. PLOS One, 21(8), e0354702. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0354702