Destination morphology in an ancient Chinese city

This chapter explores the destination morphology associated with the city of Pingyao, an ancient walled city in Shanxi Province, China. It shows that the city wall as a reference point to characterize some periods of urban change in Pingyao’s history and eventual emergence as a major tourist destination in China. A. Gospodini proposes that urban morphology faces three properties in relation to tourism development: the preservation of aspects of the city’s past, authenticity in terms of spatial morphology, and richness in meaning. The chapter describes twofold: the first is the introduction of urban morphology in the context of China, as well as the sources that can be used in its investigation in urban tourism; and the second is to assess the historical development of the city wall in Pingyao, and to detail the impacts of tourism development associated with the wall.