Embracing History and Cultural Heritage Through the Chinese Hanfu Costume Tourism

Abstract

Cultural heritage tourism is conceptually framed by the dialectic between heritage conservation imperatives and commercial market demands, while intangible cultural heritage tourism encompasses the experiential engagement with performative, craft-based, and ritualistic practices that encapsulate both historical and contemporary socio-cultural narratives. Dressing in traditional costumes represents an emergent phenomenon within this paradigm, particularly in China, where Hanfu has gained prominence as an instrument for cultural immersion and intangible heritage preservation. By the end of 2023, the number of Hanfu enthusiasts in China exceeded 9 million, reflecting an exponential increase and highlighting the rapid evolution of this market segment. Employing a quantitative research design, this study utilises an online questionnaire survey administered to a sample of 476 adult tourists. This study aims to critically examine the underlying motivations that drive tourists to engage in traditional costume tourism, with a particular focus on Hanfu costume tourism in China. The findings elucidate three principal motivations underlying participation in Hanfu costume tourism. First, Hanfu functions as a critical medium for immersive cultural heritage engagement, facilitating a deeper connection with traditional culture while simultaneously satisfying tourists’ aesthetic aspirations and non-quotidian self-presentation. Second, the proliferation of Hanfu-related content on social media significantly influences tourist decision-making processes, reinforcing aspirational and performative dimensions of engagement. Third, the widespread adoption of Hanfu reflects an intensified cultural identification among Chinese tourists with their indigenous heritage, concomitant with a pronounced inclination towards cultivating ritualistic and affective dimensions within their travel experiences. This research makes a substantive contribution to the discourse on cultural heritage tourism by elucidating the interrelationship between traditional costume engagement and heritage tourism motivations. The findings offer valuable theoretical and practical insights for the strategic integration of traditional costume elements into cultural heritage tourism frameworks, thereby advancing both the preservation of intangible heritage and the enhancement of tourist experiences through embodied cultural participation.