Sichuan University professor to talk about tourism in China

A Sichuan University professor will give a lecture about streets in China featuring replicated ancient architecture that have become modern tourist attractions.

The lecture “Chinatown in China: Tourism and Cultural Attractions in Mainland China Today” will be held at 5:30 p.m., Jan. 21, in the Carson Ballroom in the Old Main building on the Tempe campus. The talk will be in Mandarin Chinese. It is free and open to the public.

Wang will speak about China’s newly developed tourism industry – the development of these “replicated ancient streets” (仿古街) and detail the background of the culture of the modern tourism landscape. Given China’s long history and rich culture, these replicated ancient streets allow the development of tourism. Since the 90s, urbanization has caused the decrease of the uniqueness of different cities. These replicated ancient streets have become a way to attract tourists in order for China’s tourism industry to develop successfully.

This will be the first lecture given by Professor Xiaolu Wang who is a professor of literature at Sichuan University’s College of Literature and Journalism. Wang was the executive editor of Comparative Literature: East and West. He has been a visiting scholar at the University of British Columbia, the University of Toronto, the University of Chicago, Duke University and Arizona State University. Wang was a visiting professor at Suchow University in Taiwan, Chinese University and City University in Hong Kong. His research focuses on literary theories and cultural criticism.

The School of International Letters and Cultures, the ASU Confucius Institute and Sichuan University are the sponsors of the lecture.