The Spatialization of Intangible Cultural Heritage in China’s Digital Era: In Urban, Digital, and Wanghong Spaces
摘要
This chapter investigates the development of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and its interplay with urban, digital, and wanghong spaces, with a specific emphasis on China. ICH is deeply rooted in place and emphasizing human involvement. Digital media redefine humans as active place-makers. ICH is now influenced by urban-digital hybrid factors that are reshaping China's development. Despite the growing prominence of ICH as a research topic, its spatialization and digitalization—particularly through emerging phenomena like wanghong—remain underexplored from a geographical perspective. There is still a lack of studies addressing how urban-digital hybrid factors reshape ICH’s role in contemporary urban development within China’s digital age. To fill these research gaps, this study presents a comprehensive case of Shiwan pottery sculpture skills in the city of Foshan, demonstrating how ICH actively contributes to the development of urban, digital, and wanghong spaces. The research employs a qualitative approach, combining both offline and online data collection. Empirical evidence from cities of the Global South enriches the existing scholarship on ICH. The cities of the future are being shaped by significant digital transformations that are intricately connected to our daily experiences and aspirations. The balance delicate between the innovative development and protection of ICH remains a critical concern.