Villages in China are disappearing at the pace of modernization with traditional rural community-living rapidly transformed into urbanized-industrial-living. The rural-to-urban internal migration is causing an increasing depopulation of rural areas: at present, there are nearly 300 ancient Chinese villages disappearing rapidly each day. The common scenario for those villages depicts scattered settlements where only the elderly generation is left. When the elderly will decease within the next decades, China will face a loss of traditional culture preserved through these communities, a practice that dates back to thousands of years ago. These historical settlements represent a unique cultural heritage not only for the various ethnic groups of China, but also for all humanity, present and future generations. Heritage conservation and sustainable development of ancient villages are now facing unprecedented challenges. In recent years Village Regeneration strategies have emerged to support the rebirth and development of Chinese rural settlements, carrying out interventions of different magnitude: from large-scale development activities that promote the economic growth of the village, to neighborhood interventions that improve villagers’ quality of life. Applying Product Service System Design methodology to the issue, the study aims to develop a sustainable Regeneration Strategy for Cangdong Village, a historical settlement located in Kaiping, in Guangdong Province of Southern China. Recognized in 2007 by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, Kaiping villages shield a unique cultural heritage, with elaborate and beautiful exotic architecture, such as the famous Diaolou. Here in 2010 the NGO Cangdong Education Center was born, with the purpose of setting up an example for heritage conservation and community development. Cooperating with Cangdong Education Center and local villagers to envision new services for Cangdong and its surrounding, the author analyzed the role tourism can play for sustainable development, following the design thinking process to define a holistic Regeneration Strategy based on community involvement and sustainable tourism. The strategy aims to connect the villages around Cangdong Educational Center, Cangdong and Tangkou, which will become a benchmark for educational tourism in Kaiping. The study explores a new system to accommodate tourists in rural and depopulated settlements, preserving local heritage and lifestyle while improving the service offering. Combining international best practices such as Greenways, Ecomuseum and the Italian Albergo Diffuso, the study envisions an unobtrusive widespread service-system to provide visitors with a holistic educational experience. The developed tourism model, called Cangdong Education Widespread Hotel, enables participation of different local communities, valorizes endogenous resources and minimizes the impact of its infrastructures, transforming local houses into accommodation facilities, as well as object of learning experiences. Engaging tourists in conservation activities, the system empowers tourists themselves to contribute in local heritage preservation. The Regeneration Strategy designed for Cangdong could serve as a conceptual and reference model for professionals involved in Village Regeneration and heritage conservation project in China or abroad, seeking for a holistic system to regenerate depopulated areas through sustainable and educational tourism.
I villaggi storici e rurali, nel loro contesto territoriale, rappresentano una parte essenziale del patrimonio universale, custodendo storie di conquiste, antiche tradizioni e unicità culturali. In Cina, il massiccio processo di modernizzazione e la conseguente migrazione dalle campagne alle città ha causato un sempre maggiore depopolamento delle aree rurali: ogni giorno circa 300 villaggi storici vengono abbandonati, distrutti o affidati ai pochi anziani rimasti. Quando la generazione più anziana scomparirà, la Cina perderà un patrimonio storico, artistico e culturale risalente a migliaia di anni fa. La conservazione e lo sviluppo sostenibile dei villaggi storici deve oggi affrontare sfide senza precedenti. Negli ultimi anni sono emersi svariati progetti di Village Regeneration con lo scopo di recuperare e sviluppare aree storiche della Cina rurale, attuando strategie di diverso rilievo: da interventi su larga scala per promuovere la crescita economica di un territorio, ad interventi di quartiere per migliorare collaborativamente la vita dei residenti. Applicando strumenti e metodologie di Product Service System Design e Design Thinking, questa tesi si propone di sviluppare una strategia per rivitalizzare Cangdong, uno storico villaggio situato nelle campagne di Kaiping, nella provincia del Guangdong, Sud della Cina. Riconosciuti come patrimonio dell’UNESCO nel 2007, i villaggi di Kaiping custodiscono architetture uniche, commistioni di stili orientali e occidentali, chiamate Diaolou. Qui nel 2010 nasce il Cangdong Education Center, ONG il cui obiettivo è rendere Cangdong un esempio di conservazione e sviluppo sostenibile. Collaborando con il Cangdong Education Center e gli abitanti di Cangdong, l’autore analizza il ruolo strategico del turismo per lo sviluppo sostenibile al fine di definire una strategia di recupero basata sul turismo educativo ed il coinvolgimento della comunità locale. La ricerca esplora nuovi modelli di ospitalità nelle aree rurali e depopolate in grado di accogliere il turismo e di migliorare al contempo servizi agli abitanti e conservazione del patrimonio. Combinando modelli turistici quali le Greenways, l’Ecomuseo francese e l’Albergo Diffuso italiano, l’autore definisce un sistema non-intrusivo di servizi diffusi, al fine di fornire ai visitatori un’esperienza educativa olistica. Prende forma il Cangdong Education Widespread Hotel, occasione di partecipazione delle diverse comunità locali e di valorizzazione delle risorse indigene. L’utilizzo delle abitazioni storiche abbandonate come strutture ricettive ed oggetti di apprendimento minimizza l’impatto del turismo sul territorio, mentre le attività educative coinvolgono i turisti nella conservazione del patrimonio locale. La Regeneration Strategy progettata per Cangdong, si pone come modello concettuale di riferimento per ricercatori e professionisti coinvolti in interventi di recupero e conservazione dei villaggi storici in Cina e nel mondo, offrendo un esempio di sistema olistico volto a rivitalizzare aree depopolate tramite il turismo educativo.
Village regeneration. Creating a widespread service system to enhance educatonal tourism around Cangdong
BAGINI, FEDERICA
2015/2016
Abstract
Villages in China are disappearing at the pace of modernization with traditional rural community-living rapidly transformed into urbanized-industrial-living. The rural-to-urban internal migration is causing an increasing depopulation of rural areas: at present, there are nearly 300 ancient Chinese villages disappearing rapidly each day. The common scenario for those villages depicts scattered settlements where only the elderly generation is left. When the elderly will decease within the next decades, China will face a loss of traditional culture preserved through these communities, a practice that dates back to thousands of years ago. These historical settlements represent a unique cultural heritage not only for the various ethnic groups of China, but also for all humanity, present and future generations. Heritage conservation and sustainable development of ancient villages are now facing unprecedented challenges. In recent years Village Regeneration strategies have emerged to support the rebirth and development of Chinese rural settlements, carrying out interventions of different magnitude: from large-scale development activities that promote the economic growth of the village, to neighborhood interventions that improve villagers’ quality of life. Applying Product Service System Design methodology to the issue, the study aims to develop a sustainable Regeneration Strategy for Cangdong Village, a historical settlement located in Kaiping, in Guangdong Province of Southern China. Recognized in 2007 by UNESCO as World Heritage Site, Kaiping villages shield a unique cultural heritage, with elaborate and beautiful exotic architecture, such as the famous Diaolou. Here in 2010 the NGO Cangdong Education Center was born, with the purpose of setting up an example for heritage conservation and community development. Cooperating with Cangdong Education Center and local villagers to envision new services for Cangdong and its surrounding, the author analyzed the role tourism can play for sustainable development, following the design thinking process to define a holistic Regeneration Strategy based on community involvement and sustainable tourism. The strategy aims to connect the villages around Cangdong Educational Center, Cangdong and Tangkou, which will become a benchmark for educational tourism in Kaiping. The study explores a new system to accommodate tourists in rural and depopulated settlements, preserving local heritage and lifestyle while improving the service offering. Combining international best practices such as Greenways, Ecomuseum and the Italian Albergo Diffuso, the study envisions an unobtrusive widespread service-system to provide visitors with a holistic educational experience. The developed tourism model, called Cangdong Education Widespread Hotel, enables participation of different local communities, valorizes endogenous resources and minimizes the impact of its infrastructures, transforming local houses into accommodation facilities, as well as object of learning experiences. Engaging tourists in conservation activities, the system empowers tourists themselves to contribute in local heritage preservation. The Regeneration Strategy designed for Cangdong could serve as a conceptual and reference model for professionals involved in Village Regeneration and heritage conservation project in China or abroad, seeking for a holistic system to regenerate depopulated areas through sustainable and educational tourism.| File | Dimensione | Formato | |
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2016_07_Bagini.pdf
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https://hdl.handle.net/10589/122985