A Study on the “Landscaping” of Ethnic Diet Cultural Resources in the Field of Tourism: A Case Study of the Hundred-Family Feast of the Dong in Chengyang Eight Villages

Yang Yi

Abstract：Taking as its research object the “Hundred-Family Feast” of the Dong people in Chengyang Eight Villages in Sanjiang Dong Autonomous County， Guangxi Province， this paper attempts to explore the landscaping process of culinary cultural resources in the field of tourism. This study furthermore hopes to restore the numerous fragments of diversified landscape production， consumption， use， and inheritance by different stakeholders， including local governments， tourism developers， residents， and tourists. It tries to generate some reflections on ethnic culture change， development， and inheritance in a rapidly developing commodity society using empirical research.

The research finds that：i） Locals show a high degree of initiative and creativity in the landscaping of the Hundred-Family Feast. They select relevant elements from the customs culture system of the Hundred-Family Feast for performances， and supplement or promptly adjust the elements of the landscape product according to consumers needs. As a result， an inviting and vivid landscape of Dongs Hundred-Family Feast has been constructed and displayed on the “front stage.” ii） The government and tourism development group have integrated the resources and created a consumption-oriented Dong Hundred-Family Feast landscape following the path of “symbol extraction， professional certification， resource integration， scenery setting and performance， standard compliance and market advertising”. iii） Tourists participate in the production and consumption of the Hundred-Family Feast landscape through the tourists gaze. Field interviews and network information mainly show that few tourists question the “authenticity” of the Dong Hundred-Family Festival. Apparently， they pay more attention to their personal tourism experience and perception. The increase in tourists spending constantly seems to invite adaptations of the tourism landscape of the Hundred-Family Feast.

Residents of the Chengyang Eight Villages appear to have shown their self-governance ability in the production of the tourism landscape of the Hundred-Family Feast in their respective villages and established a management and distribution model of communal participation and community-level self-governance. The community-organizing of traditions and customs related to the Hundred-Family Feast is still under construction in daily life. Arguably the residents can maintain a balance between the productive creation of a landscape and its inheritance in real life through action strategies such as participation， absorption， creation， combination， separation， shelter， and self-protection. Industrialized development of popular eating customs should pay more attention to the local peoples subjectivity status and values. The rich blending and simultaneous development of culture and tourism still require various actors to constantly adjust different stakeholders roles， strengthen communication about values， management techniques， and operation modes， and continuously promote the equal， reciprocal， and harmonious development of ethnic tourist destinations.

Key Words：ethnic diet customs; landscaping; tourism field; hundred-family feast