Performers in Jiuzhaigou: from 'Authenticity of Life' to 'Authenticity of Performance'

Abstract

With the development of tourism in Jiuzhaigou, China, some performers from other Tibetan areas in China have been the important symbol carriers and spokespersons. This study explores the changing process of Tibetan culture in tourism from ‘authenticity of life’ to ‘authenticity of performance’, including the feedback reaction from ‘authenticity of performance’ to ‘authenticity of life’. For the performers in Jiuzhaigou, cultural authenticity in the context of tourism relates more to a new sense of life and the reconstruction of a sense of place, which mainly originate from individual professional achievement and the enhancement of self-identity for the performers, as representatives of ‘The Host’ in the tourist destination.