2
development in traditional environment would not be an exception.
Practically speaking, one of the greatest difficulties in understanding the interpretations of traditional dwellings is finding a conceptual framework to encompass the range of values and interests that occur in relation to heritage preservation and tourism development.3 For instance, creating tourism products may heighten existing tensions existing in heritage because of its contested meanings. My earlier research for analyzing the heritage tourism in Hong Kong is not only to investigate the construction of "culture" in terms of heritage preservation, but also to clarify the contested meaning of heritage regarding the awareness of identity/identities among various kinds of participants, especially local Hong Kong people. In particular, during the last two decades, the desire to know more about Hong Kong has been increasing among not only the scholars but also the mass public. On the one hand, this might be due to nostalgia or the search for “the good old days" which is initiated by the mass media, or psychological depression brought about by uncertainty over the future, especially before 1997. On the other hand, this might also be a result of local researchers' and scholars' efforts to force a rethinking of local traditions and development in the post-New Territories context with the understanding that the meaning of New Territories was challenged, especially after the 1997 handover.
Post-New Territories
This constructed history of Hong Kong is explicitly disseminated to the population through the display of a series of archaeological discoveries and architectural exhibits. This was the result of the involvement of government officials in promoting the preservation of Hong Kong's heritage, and can serve as a means of cultural-awareness at the community level. During the last decade, old houses in the villages of the New Territories in Hong Kong have been transformed into cultural heritage, and a large number of these buildings are objectified for presentation by the tourist industry.
This process of creating cultural heritage can also be claimed for works of cultural preservation started in mid-1970s, with the shift from rock-carving-oriented monuments to ancestral-worship-oriented monuments, as well as the shift from "dead and hard” records to "live
2
development in traditional environment would not be an exception.
Practically speaking, one of the greatest difficulties in understanding the interpretations of traditional dwellings is finding a conceptual framework to encompass the range of values and interests that occur in relation to heritage preservation and tourism development.3 For instance, creating tourism products may heighten existing tensions existing in heritage because of its contested meanings. My earlier research for analyzing the heritage tourism in Hong Kong is not only to investigate the construction of "culture" in terms of heritage preservation, but also to clarify the contested meaning of heritage regarding the awareness of identity/identities among various kinds of participants, especially local Hong Kong people. In particular, during the last two decades, the desire to know more about Hong Kong has been increasing among not only the scholars but also the mass public. On the one hand, this might be due to nostalgia or the search for “the good old days" which is initiated by the mass media, or psychological depression brought about by uncertainty over the future, especially before 1997. On the other hand, this might also be a result of local researchers' and scholars' efforts to force a rethinking of local traditions and development in the post-New Territories context with the understanding that the meaning of New Territories was challenged, especially after the 1997 handover.
Post-New Territories
This constructed history of Hong Kong is explicitly disseminated to the population through the display of a series of archaeological discoveries and architectural exhibits. This was the result of the involvement of government officials in promoting the preservation of Hong Kong's heritage, and can serve as a means of cultural-awareness at the community level. During the last decade, old houses in the villages of the New Territories in Hong Kong have been transformed into cultural heritage, and a large number of these buildings are objectified for presentation by the tourist industry.
This process of creating cultural heritage can also be claimed for works of cultural preservation started in mid-1970s, with the shift from rock-carving-oriented monuments to ancestral-worship-oriented monuments, as well as the shift from "dead and hard” records to "live
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