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1Bruntz Courtney and Brooke Schedneck (Eds.), Buddhist Tourism in Asia, University of Hawaii Press, 2020.

2Zhu Yujie, Heritage and Romantic Consumption in China. Amsterdam, University of Amsterdam Press, 2018.

3These two books are very different, the first is an edited collection of case studies from all over Asia in a Contemporary Buddhism series and the second is a single authored ethnographic monograph about a heritage city in China in an Asian Heritage series. Yet, they have much in common, the contemporary struggle between money-making modern tourism and what is left of Asian and local ethnic and religious traditions. So they focus on such concepts as commoditization, local and traditional identities, the increasing flexible meanings of authenticity and the growing ubiquity of international – not necessarily Western – tourists.

4Buddhist Tourism in Asia is edited by junior religious studies scholars Bruntz, (Doane U., Nebraska) and Schedneck (Rhodes College, Tennessee). The collection stems from a workshop they held at Oregon State University in 2016. Very propitiously it features authors from Asia, North America and Europe, and they range from graduate student status to emeritus Ian Reader, the renowned specialist in Japanese religions. The majority were trained or work in religious studies, or anthropology, and some in history. Unfortunately in this “post-colonial era” none of them are from the countries studied : Burmese archaeologist Geok Yian Goh was at the workshop but not in the volume ; also we are left to wonder why Charlene Mackley’s workshop paper on the sensitive but under-researched topic “State-led Tourism, the Divine Presence and Tibetan Self-Immolation in China’s Tibet”, was not included [I visited that region in 2006, Rebgong in Qinghai Province, with local Tibetan scholars].

5The editors frame the volume well, pointing out that Buddhist temples and pilgrimages are now contextualized by dramatically new circumstances. While some, like the millennium-old 88 temple circuit of Shikoku, Japan, can still be done on foot, most people do such tours by bus as part of a package. Not only are the destinations swamped by Western or other non-Buddhist visitors, but the Buddhist pilgrims themselves, often local, have to live with these changes, and even more important the Buddhist monks themselves have changed to adapt to the new world.

6The analysis is framed firstly by the concept of Imaginaries (Salazar and Graburn, 2016), that is, the set of mental expectations, images that the various stakeholders have, which connects to Place Making. The imaginary of Buddhism itself has changed since World War II, emphasizing the international shared goals, the almost ‘secular religion” of international world Peace, for instance through the very public performances of the Dalai Lama. Geary’s chapter on Bodh Gaya in northern India, illustrates a poor area which has transformed itself and draw many tourists by emphasizing Buddhism as Peace, aided by the presence of Tibetans. The image of Buddhism as a religion originally of inner peace has expanded to outer, world peace, thus linking its heritage to contemporary concerns. Miksic’s chapter on Singapore’s Tiger Balm Gardens however, recounts the downfall of what was originally a private garden of Buddhist and folkloric images created by the wealthy entrepreneurs who invented Tiger Balm [I visited there in 1974]. Donated to the city and run by a private company since 1980, it has consistently attracted fewer people and lose money. Though it contains vivid images of “Buddhist Hell” and so on, Miksic compares it with Borobudur and Angkor Wat which have retained their more wholly Buddhist imaginairies.

7Schedneck brings us to the contemporary Buddhist complexes of Chiang Mai in northern Thailand, where the faithful, visitors and monks, are disturbed by masses of Chinese tourists using the temple as a prop for their photos, and other wearing skimpy dresses or, for lack of signs, performing yoga in spaces where they shouldn’t – many visitors “felt like they were in a zoo !” (p. 71). As a UNESCO Heritage site it attracts regular tourists as well as those who want to learn about Buddhism. There are programs for “Chats” as well as retreats and overnight stays. Many priests are open to reinventing spaces and teaching the curious. They think that Christians are not serious about their faith but are interested in the moral economy and present an opportunity for the expansion of Buddhism.

8The next chapter is the first to focus on the wealthier nations of China and Japan. Ritzinger examines the case of Mount Maitreya, the Fifth Buddhist Mountain sacred to the mysterious future Buddha. There are four accepted sacred mountains in China but there remains rivalry over which will be the fifth. He remarks that as “Buddhism has no Vatican” it is up to public opinion to decide. The Communist Party is interested in using tourism to reduce economic differences between regions, and the sacred sites are often in poorer marginal places, so it “harnesses power of mountains and other sacred sites . . . to draw tourists.” (p. 84). The rivals are Mt Xuedou, near Ningbo in Zhejiang [I visited there is 2012] – which is a very wealthy area and built big Buddha up the mountain and provided many amenities and transport. The rival, Mt. Fanjing, in poorer Guizhou Province with perhaps purer qualifications but fewer connections. So in this case, the result does not expand tourism to where it is needed most.

9The second section focuses on Secularization, but we must realise that the concept of the Sacred itself is a variable and fluid, subject to personal interpretations, competing ideologies and – at the hands of the state. Marston’s chapter on the unusual topic of Cambodian pilgrimages to Sri Lanka shows the increasing similarity to modern “package tours.” Newly affluent after years of tragedy, they are fascinated by the alterity of India and Sri Lanka and the expatriate Cambodian communities who have started Buddhist establishments. Next, Trew examines Buddhists and tourist in Cambodia, where, he finds that tourist imaginaries often involve perceptions of exoticized spirituality, legacies of a violent past, and the beauty of nature. The numerous international tourists have found their ways beyond Angkor Wat to many lesser sites. Trew focuses on Phnom Sampeau, a more traditional area, long famous for its association will a female admirer of the Buddha. Here pilgrims are free but tourists pay to enter. Nevertheless, the spaces have been transformed such that profit-making and merit-making co-exist. For instance just of the path to the temple is the Khmer Rouge Killing Cave, with a Buddhist statue surrounded by skulls embedded in the walls. Some believe that praying there will bring luck, but there is also a fortune teller who will sell you luck to win the lottery. Nearby is another attractive cave from which the bats emerge at dusk, combing nature with folk beliefs.

10Returning to China, Bruntz discusses different attitudes towards tourism and commerce as Buddhism re-emerged from its Maoist banishment. In one temple in Hainan, the monks demanded the elimination of the government imposed entry fee, arguing that Buddhist temples must have autonomy as the sacred is reclaimed from commercialism. This is the same argument made by the temples in Kyoto when the city tried to impose a small entrance tax in 1984 (Graburn, 2004). On the other hand, Longquan temple in Xian spread the Dharma (truths) through WeChat, in blogs and cartoons, calendars, animation and a two foot robot named Xian’er.

11Reader describes how Japan used religious sites as it modernized its domestic tourism industry which had flourished in the early modern pre-Meiji industry (cf. Graburn, 1983). But in the late 20th century, the idea of heritage stimulated by UNESCO provided a more secular framework for promoting the same sites. But by the 21st century Buddhism was seriously in decline : not only is the population dropping but fewer believers used Buddhist funerary rituals, and commercial ventures provided new necessary financial support. Pilgrimages are described as hiking trails, emphasizing health rather than faith. The national program, to increase foreign tourists provided new incomes from omiyage (souvenirs). And young Japanese have developed their own forms of pilgrimage, sacred spots and worship (fandom) based on social media and popular culture (Graburn and Yamamura, 2020).

12The third section is on Commoditization versus Buddhism’s merit economy. Nichols wisely proposes (p. 187) that we could find two kinds of commoditization, the weak, where the temples accrete and are surrounded by commercial enterprises from which it might benefit, vs. strong forms where those things – services, spaces, or objects which were formerly “sacred” are subject to the money economy. He suggests that temples always took part in the weak economy, growing and selling rice, buying food and supplies. But in modern China and elsewhere, core features have been commoditized. For instance, Shaolin temple in Henan province, a Zen temple known for its martial arts, aimed for UNESCO recognition and branded itself as “the home of Kung Fu.” This brought new business tactics with resulting noise, disturbances, diversion from duties or new duties as for monks as guides and teachers. Some of the monks’ protested against all these and the new entry fees leading to a temporary rebellion.

13Back in Japan Mitchell describes how some temples have rescued their finances by promoting “speed dating.” One company Jisyacon, suggested that temples arrange overnight stays for unattached young people interested in Buddhism. With at least one common interest such couples got to know each other and were encouraged to return, as couples and eventually marry. Marriage in contemporary Japan is on the wane and this commercial venture was seen as having very positive religious and social outcomes. In addition it throws a new positive light on Buddhism which is usually associated with death and the afterlife.

14Lastly, Williams-Oerburg, returns us to Ladakh positioned in North India between Kashmir and Tibet. The government re-opened Ladakh in 1974 and promoted it as a unique tourist destination with (Tibetan) Buddhism as its USP (Unique Selling Proposition), though its Muslim (40+ %) and Christian populations benefit from providing the business services. For adventure tourists and hippies is a substitute Tibet, which is pretty well closed to Western tourists. Like Bodh Gaya, it feeds off the imaginary that Buddhism is “peaceful, spiritual and ancient.” In addition to Westerners, Ladakh became very popular with Indian tourists after the spectacular Bollywood movie 3 Idiots (2003). Ladakh is sold as a Himalayan fantasyland with a rare traditional form of Buddhism, a magical, spiritual Shangri La.

15Yujie Zhu’s book explores the rise of 'romantic consumerism' in contemporary China. Alienated modern Chinese’ dissatisfaction with the urban mundane (MacCannell, 1976) leads to romanticized interests in practices and people deemed to be natural, ethnic, spiritual and aesthetic, and a search for tradition and authenticity. But what, exactly, are tradition and authenticity, and what happens to them when they are turned into performance ?

16Yujie Zhu, originally from Shanghai and now at Australian National University, was educated in anthropology at the Heidelberg Center of Excellence, and had some working experience with different international organisations in Spain, Germany, Switzerland, India. His dissertation work, presented in this book, focuses on the “uses of the past,” including the commercialization and performance of heritage. He has also worked in Xian and Mt. Emei on similar topics so, these parallels in the contemporary problems of religion, heritage commercialization, authenticity and tourism, overlap with the edited volume on Buddhism.

17Zhu focuses on “romantic consumption” as the key trope of the modern tourists ; what is the background to this ? Lijiang has long been a top urban ethnic “scenic spot” for tourists and anthropologists alike, much as the Hani (Honghe) and Zhuang (Longji) mountain villages have been the most famous ethnic rice terrace “scenic spots” in China (See Dao and Wang in this issue). We shall explore the sequence of meanings of “romantic.”

18Lijiang is a small city on the northwestern edge of Yunnan, home of the interesting Naxi ethnic group ruled by the Mu family, subjects of the Emperor for 600 years. It was also an important post on the Tea-Horse Road, taking tea into Tibet. Situated on the Jinsha (Upper Yangtze) River, it is a prime scenic spot, overshadowed by the Jade Dragon Snowy Mountain with a long chair lift, not far from the plunging Leaping Tiger Gorge on the upper Yangtze, and near Lugu Lake, the home region of the related Mosuo or Na people.

19The Naxi, (or Na) have their own language and used a pictographic writing system for over 1,000 years, connected to their Tibetan-related Dongba religion and its priests. Western adventurer Joseph Rock lived there and first brought it to outside attention with his romantic texts (1924, 1947). He focused on their religion and collected many Dongba (written) texts. As Chinese became richer and more exploratory in the 1990s, tourism came to the West for destinations of scenic and cultural (ethnic) interest. The first ‘romantic’ pined for the almost unobtainable “living fossil” as described by Rock and visited by few.

20By the 1990s Lijiang remained an isolated part of the Yunnan imaginary, but thousands a year took the many hour bus ride from Kunming or Dali and a new fast railroad was planned (it finally opened in 2019). With growing fame, the old town (Dayan) of 400-year old houses was proposed as a UNESCO world heritage site, and accepted in 1997, right after a 6.6 earthquake in 1996 ; this killed 360 people, injured 17,000 and destroyed 360,000 buildings. Naturally the precious Old Town was restored pending its UNESCO status but further habitations and businesses expanded in the new town away from the river. Lijiang became more accessible and the early tourists probably fitted the “Romantic Gaze” of John Urry’s frame (1990), as urbanites who wanted to explore alterity, distant and exotic, before the crowds arrived.

21Another “romantic” was initiated by the building of Sanyi airport in 1995 in expectation of the UNESCO designation, allowing tourists much easier access to the city. Tourism grew from 200,000 a year to near 2,000,000 a year by 2000, the year I first visited. The “romantic” components were many : the Dayan unchanged (but rebuilt !) since the Tang Dynasty, the colorfully dressed and peaceful Naxi and other ethnic minorities, and the magnificent scenic setting on the edge of the Tibetan plateau. The majority of visitors were Chinese urbanites (and a few foreigners) perhaps a bit adventuresome, often wanting to get to know and stay within Naxi culture in homes stays, but still wanting many of the “comforts of home.” (Wang, 2007). Many of the Naxi moved out of their old homes to live in the “modern” new town, renting out their houses to Han Chinese businesses.

22The third “romantic’ (Yanyu) built on exoticism but added “love.” The Naxi had an ancient myth about two admired young people who committed suicide together in the mountains rather than marry the spouses selected by their parents. And coincidentally the nearby rural Na (Mosuo) used to be matrilineal and were thought to have had “walking marriage”, that is every man lived in turn with his mother, then sister(s) and later nieces, but had informally recognized sexual partnerships with unrelated women in other nearby houses. Thus Mosuo women (and optimistically Naxi women) were thought to be “available” to experiment with men who approached them.

23All this was blown out of proportion by a 2003 movie about the suicidal lovers, drawing attention to romance as desire and against convention. Tourism numbers shot up to some 7-10,000,000 a year, the vast majority of whom were looking for a quick romance with no strings attached (one night stands) combining the affluence, cosmopolitan values and perhaps alienation (MacCannell 1976) of the new younger generation. Valentine’s Day was celebrated, love songs broadcast and Yanyu – somewhere between romantic love and sexual desire became the prime motivation. Hotels, homestays, internet cafes, restaurants, bars and nightclubs proliferated (Chao, 2012 ; Su and Teo, 2009 ; Zhao, 2014), the main marketplace was moved out and the Dayan became a hot destination. Though Naxi/Na women may have been the “love imaginary” as first, couples from all over China consummated their imaginations. While the massive flows of Chinese tourists, which has reached more than 14 million a year, pursue each other and the “atmosphere” of the old city, Western tourists continue more interested in the exotic Naxi culture (Sa, 2017) but their presence is no longer enough to sustain cultural performances such as the Dongba Orchestra and even the Wedding Courtyard has closed since Zhu’s research.

24Zhu’s Romantic Consumption is an intriguing, comprehensive and well-illustrated ethnography which rests on this historical context and knits together many of the same themes. He points out that, as have others (Havlena and Holbrook 1986) the consumption of experience has overtaken the consumption of space, objects and physical features among the urban Chinese, as well as tourists elsewhere. He carried out his research in Lijiang in the far West China, focusing on the minority ethnic Naxi Wedding Courtyard, where a trained Dongba priest and his Naxi assistants conduct an Naxi marriage ceremony for a fee while others (mainly Han, majority Chinese), friends or other tourists, sit in the restaurant and watch. During the Cultural Revolution, this “primitive religion” (Dongba) was banned and most of its centuries old collections of pictographs were destroyed. But after 1978, this unique cultural heritage was reinstated and training resumed at the government authorized Dongba Cultural Research Institute. To foster the revival, local people performed rituals publically in ten “traditional courtyards” and the local government saw the opportunity to promote Dongba culture, now as heritage for tourists rather than religion (Nagatani, 2010) ; most trained Dongba stayed in Lijiang, performed and produced materials for tourists rather than serving their co-ethnics back in the countryside (McKhann, 2010). One of the most successful ventures until recently was the Dongba Orchestra which toured internationally and particularly attracted overseas tourists.

25Zhu sees the Wedding Courtyard as a stage which draws on a rich heritage of music, performance, clothing, ritual and beliefs, conducted by a trained Dongba who claims that the traditional spirits visit the ceremony and strengthen the couples, even if they are unaware of or don’t believe in such things. Zhu also focuses on the Naxi assistants and participants and their pride in performing, possibly reinforcing, a threatened cultural heritage, and especially on the variety of tourist couples who go through the “marriage” and their guests.

26Marriages are usually conducted for Chinese tourists, some on their honeymoons or for others who are older but want to try out the exotic experience. Clients, tourists, come to Lijiang for it or find out when they visit Lijiang. Some very moved by it, as a personal event, unlike the parental supervised wedding duty. Occasionally participants are local Naxi. But for performance entertainment, a sometimes a local couple stands in to demonstrate Naxi customs for the paying visitors. Wedding are complex arrangements, though cut way down from their traditional Naxi forms (In 2012 I participated in a wedding ceremony, carrying the yak butter to the altar, later to be smeared on the foreheads of the couple as a concluding ritual). They involve parades in the old town, and ritual performances with an audience in the courtyard. There is a business manager, Dongba priests, a moderator who explains to the audience, dancers and other staff. They get into the spirit of the exotic performance even though unlike the Dongba, they are not believers. And some are Han, not Naxi, but appreciate it as more than just a job.

27Zhu also follows people after the wedding itself. Some people stay in Lijiang, a kind of mock paradise, and join in the sightseeing and “yanyu” (romantic liaisons). Others are more serious about their love for the atmosphere of Lijiang. They even start businesses like other immigrant Han, but they still act like they did at home in the East. After a while some of them begin to see Lijiang ruined by the “mass tourism and the noise, drink and sex. Indeed they have been severe worries about “overtourism” in the last decade, when the annual flow of tourists reached 14 million, and some correctional measures have been introduced. In the end some of these immigrant go back “home” where they residential registration (hukou) give them access to health case and educational facilities.

28The beauty of this book lies not only a profound understanding of the politics of cultural traditions and heritage, but deep insights and knowledge, gained through extensive visits between 2005 and 2013, most intensively in 2011 and 2012. Through this close knowledge we get to see the personal negotiations in meaning that people undergo during their life decisions and the consequences. From intimate conversations, letters and blogs we learn how people use their own interrelations of authenticity, morality, the good life, and meeting their challenges. This is very satisfying and although not a comparative study, it throws lights on similar exploitations of heritage elsewhere in the world.

29All of these case studies of tourism and religion (Buddhism, Dongba) is contemporary Asia show the penetration of tourism into all regions, institutions, belief systems and peoples’ lives. None of the religions remain unchanged and all have to live with commercial tourism and modern urban systems. Even those who wish to continue to worship as did their ancestors, have to worship in new contexts with visiting tourists, new spaces and modern technologies. We can see that there is a gradient of adaptations between religion and commerce and the state, with more variety and flexibility in South and Southeast Asia, where many of the new opportunities are often welcomed.

30In China and Japan the changes are more forceful, with both governments pervasively using (religious) heritage for tourist purposes, indeed 75 % of China’s World Heritage sites are or were religious. In China the state is all powerful and religious institutions have to follow, often ingratiating themselves with the government by becoming successful tourist destinations. In Japan, there has been a separation of Church and State since the American Occupation and the new constitution (1949) but Buddhism is suffering declines in membership and activity and has to pursue commercial tourism in various forms to support the priests and maintain the buildings and the gardens. In my To Pray, Pay and Play : the Cultural Structure of Japanese Domestic Tourism (1983) I pointed out that Japanese tourism was heavily influenced by the history and culture of pilgrimages. Now, in much of Asia, the “shoe is on the other foot” - pilgrimages are heavily influenced by the forms and culture of tourism.

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Nelson Graburn, « Contemporary Tourism in Asia: Religion, Heritage and Commercialism », Via [En ligne], 17 | 2020, mis en ligne le 20 octobre 2020, consulté le 12 décembre 2025. URL : http://journals.openedition.org/viatourism/5376 ; DOI : https://doi.org/10.4000/viatourism.5376

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Nelson Graburn

University of California, Berkeley

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