Exploring the development of ethnic traditional sports tourism in Zhanjiang within the context of sports and tourism integration

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Lingnan Normal University (Zhanjiang, Guang dong, China)

Exploring the development of ethnic traditional sports tourism in Zhanjiang within the context of sports and tourism integration

Liu Zhou

Associate Professor

Abstract

ethnic traditional sports culture

This research report investigates the current state of the inheritance of ethnic traditional sports culture in Zhanjiang. Utilizing relevant literature review and research methods such as field investigation, literature review, and expert interviews, the study explores the present status of ethnic traditional sports culture inheritance in Zhanjiang from a cultural anthropology perspective. It identifies the advantages and challenges encountered in the development of ethnic traditional sports culture in Zhanjiang and analyzes the primary factors influencing its inheritance and development. Furthermore, based on the current developmental status, the paper proposes strategies for advancing the inheritance of ethnic traditional sports culture in Zhanjiang, emphasizing novel modes of inheritance, sports tourism development, and the expansion of sports-related tourism projects.

Keywords: Zhanjiang; ethnic traditional sports; culture; inheritance.

Introduction

The Leizhou Peninsula, the third largest peninsula in China, is located at the southernmost tip of the Chinese mainland, bordered by the South China Sea to the east and the Beibu Gulf to the west, with Hainan Island lying to the south across the sea. Zhanjiang City in Guangdong Province is the main city on the Leizhou Peninsula, encompassing four districts: Chikan, Xiashan, Potou, and Mazhang, as well as the three county-level cities of Leizhou, Lianjiang, and Wuchuan, and two counties: Xuwu and Suixi. Zhanjiang was once known as the "southern barbarian land," and the migration of many people from the Central Plains brought a lot of Central Plains culture to Zhanjiang, which, combined with local Hakka culture, Minnan culture, and indigenous culture, formed the unique cultural style of Zhanjiang. Due to its unique geographical location, over the course of history, the people of Zhanjiang have lived for generations in the embrace of the sea, forming an indelible bond with the ocean, thereby highlighting the characteristics of maritime culture. Rich and colorful ethnic traditional sports, with distinct local characteristics, are an important part of Zhanjiang's intangible cultural heritage. Folk sports traditions have a long history in Zhanjiang. Here, abundant natural resources, preserved simple folk customs, and rich ethnic traditional sports are present. These ethnic traditional sports activities are not only an important part of people's daily lives but also convey cultural information of the times as a unique cultural symbol. Folk sports activities such as lion dances, human dragon dances, and dragon boat races are popular in both urban and rural areas. In recent years, some of these projects have won numerous awards. For example, the Wenche Lion Dance was invited by the Ministry of Culture to participate in the "China-France Cultural Year" event and represented Guangdong Province in the opening ceremony performance of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. Human dragon dances have participated in the opening and closing ceremonies of large domestic sports events multiple times, winning the Gold Award at the first China Island Art Festival and being featured in special reports by CCTV several times. Some towns also have their own unique traditional projects, such as swimming and table tennis in Anpu Town, chess competitions in Potou Town, and dragon boat races in Jianghong Town and Wushi Town. Under the government's advocacy, these activities have been flourishing in recent years. For example, the influence of dragon boat races has spread to neighboring provinces such as Hainan Province and Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. Since 2006, Zhanjiang has hosted a large international dragon boat race during the Dragon Boat Festival every year, attracting a large number of guests from home and abroad to gather in Zhanjiang. In 2005, Zhanjiang also hosted the Red Soil Cultural Arts Festival, with the participation of 3,000 people, most of whom were involved in folk sports activities.

Exploring the Development of Ethnic Traditional Sports Tourism in Zhanjiang

Zhanjiang boasts a long history and possesses rich and distinctive ethnic traditional culture. Through the diligent labor of its people, numerous sports activities with local and ethnic characteristics have emerged. The promotion and development of traditional sports activities among various ethnic groups hold significant practical significance for promoting national fitness, enhancing vitality, and showcasing the great spirit of each ethnic group. These brilliant ethnic traditional sports resources brim with rich ethnic flavor, continuously attracting people for sightseeing, tours, and appreciation. They not only promote Zhanjiang's unique ethnic culture but also generate substantial economic benefits.

The integration of sports and tourism represents a novel approach to fitness. The ethnic groups in Zhanjiang possess abundant tourism resources. By integrating ethnic sports culture resources into tourism development and leveraging their entertainment, expressive, and participatory characteristics, these activities can enrich the tourism experience and attract visitors. This integration also serves as an excellent means of inheriting ethnic sports culture, allowing Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports culture to transcend regional boundaries and be appreciated by a broader audience. Excellent traditional sports projects inherently possess strong entertainment and viewing qualities. When tourists visit Zhanjiang, they are not merely admiring the scenery; they are also interested in its culture and traditions. Effective integration of ethnic sports projects into tourism development will play a vital role in promoting ethnic traditional sports during the ongoing tourism boom.

Analysis of the Necessity of Developing Ethnic Traditional Sports Tourism in Zhanjiang

The Need to Expand Zhanjiang's Tourism Industry.

Zhanjiang's primary economic sources come from the fishing and agriculture industries, while the tourism industry has been relatively underdeveloped. Since 2000, Zhanjiang's tourism industry has maintained a continuous, rapid, and healthy development momentum, achieving significant results. Yu Dingcheng, the Director of Zhanjiang Tourism Bureau, stated that Zhanjiang will seize the opportunity of the national initiative to promote the development of the western region, focusing on building a mechanism for "resource sharing, customer exchange, investment attraction, market accessibility, and enterprise benefits" in tourism opening-up and regional cooperation. Efforts are being made to develop the national park into an eco-tourism boutique in Zhanjiang. The goal is to strive for major tourism project investments in the province by 2015, making Zhanjiang a tourism paradise in China and even the world. Zhanjiang can provide greater competitiveness for the provincial tourism industry. Developing and utilizing Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports tourism resources can not only reflect the multi-ethnic characteristics of the province, greatly enriching Zhanjiang's cultural connotation of tourism, but also establish a good tourism image and unique tourism brand for Zhanjiang, promoting the improvement of the tourism industry system and establishing the status of the tourism pillar industry. Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports culture is an important way to reflect ethnic characteristics. Only by integrating landscape tourism and cultural tourism can people be immersed in the beauty of mountains and waters while experiencing ethnic customs and rich cultural features. The industrialization of Zhanjiang's ethnic tourism development can use the earned funds to promote its own development and provide funds and support for the exploration, compilation, and research of Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports.

The Need to Preserve and Inherit China's Intangible Cultural Heritage.

Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports culture is the result of long-term historical development, creation, accumulation, and inheritance by the people of Zhanjiang. It represents a valuable intangible cultural heritage of China. However, due to social and cultural changes, the introduction of modern entertainment methods, and especially the widespread use of modern media such as television, most people now spend their leisure time watching TV, which has correspondingly reduced attention towards existing ethnic sports activities. Some sports projects are facing extinction, while others lack instructors, organizers, and funding, leading to the disappearance of certain activities. As a unique ethnic cultural resource, Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports activities can enhance the humanistic landscape within tourism resources. Developing Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports tourism can transform the rich Zhanjiang ethnic traditional culture into an economic advantage and contribute to Zhanjiang's economic development. Additionally, it can encourage widespread participation among Zhanjiang's ethnic groups, fostering pride in their valuable cultural heritage and prompting conscious attention to and learning of their traditional sports, ensuring the intergenerational inheritance of traditional sports across various ethnic groups.

Currently, the inheritance of Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports mainly relies on hosting the Zhanjiang Ethnic Traditional Sports Games. This has significantly promoted the development of ethnic sports in Zhanjiang, Yunnan. However, relying solely on government policies and a few activities is not sufficient to fully inherit the rich resources of Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports. Firstly, the inheritance path is too narrow; secondly, the scope of inheritance is very limited; thirdly, the inheritance and innovation effects in the inheritance process are not significant.

The Need for Economic Development in Zhanjiang Region.

Zhanjiang comprises five counties and four districts with an area of 247 square kilometers and a population of approximately 100,000. Due to natural, historical, and social reasons, the economic and social development of the Zhanjiang region still faces many difficulties and challenges. Particularly prominent is the extremely weak infrastructure in ethnic areas, lagging social development, incomplete basic public service systems, and narrow social security coverage. According to statistics from the Zhanjiang Ethnic Affairs Commission, there are still many impoverished people in the region. Therefore, the economic and social development of the Zhanjiang region remains lagging, facing deep poverty, imbalanced development, weak infrastructure, and limited self-development capabilities.

Zhanjiang's tourism sector embodies rich local customs and has strong ornamental and economic value. By promoting appreciation and participation in ethnic sports culture, tourism projects can be enhanced, enriching the content of tourism, attracting tourists to extend their stay, promoting tourist consumption, satisfying tourists, and increasing economic benefits. Simultaneously, it can drive the development of related industries and create a market for ethnic sports tourism consumption. Developing and utilizing traditional ethnic sports tourism resources of minority groups can promote the economic development of the Zhanjiang region, further implement the policy of combining tourism development with poverty alleviation in ethnic areas, increase local people's income, and promote poverty alleviation and prosperity in ethnic areas.

The Need to Promote Zhanjiang to the World.

In tourism economic activities, tourists are fascinated by the unique cultures of various ethnic groups. Zhanjiang's traditional sports are a resource that must be cherished and utilized for tourism development. Through extensive exchanges of material and intangible cultures during tourism, the essence of Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports can be refined, preserved, and promoted, while outdated elements are gradually eliminated, making the personality of Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports more prominent.

An important characteristic of sports tourism is its fitness aspect. Through sports tourism, people's physical and mental health can be better promoted, fatigue can be alleviated and eliminated, and physical fitness can be enhanced. Additionally, through observation and participation, a deeper understanding of ethnic culture and customs can be gained, promoting the dissemination and development of ethnic culture. This can introduce the province's characteristics to the world, showcase the splendid ethnic sports culture of Zhanjiang, expand the province's influence, and promote domestic and international cultural exchanges and cooperation.

Changes in People's Lifestyles and Perspectives Leading to a New Form of Fitness Activity

With the development of the world economy and culture, especially since the 1990s, tourism has become a pillar industry in many countries. In the realm of tourism, people now place greater emphasis on eliminating mental fatigue and seeking relaxation, demanding tourism experiences that focus more on stimulating positivity. The previous superficial sightseeing tours have gradually been replaced by diversified tourism projects. Increasingly, tourists seek experiences rich in cultural significance, physical activities, and even adventurous thrills, preferring participation over mere observation. Hence, traditional tourism methods that are monotonous, mechanistic, and alienating have lost appeal, making way for dynamic, engaging, participatory, and distinctive activities. During tourism, travelers yearn to personally experience local life, directly feel the customs of different regions, and engage in emotional exchanges and cultural interactions. Tourists favor relaxed, colorful, entertaining, and engaging forms of tourism.

Zhanjiang's Unique Traditional Ethnic Sports Tourism Resources

Zhanjiang boasts unparalleled traditional sports tourism resources, providing a solid material foundation for its development and utilization. The development and utilization of Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports tourism resources will undoubtedly play a positive role in renewing and developing existing ethnic tourism resources, content, forms, social benefits, and economic benefits. Tourists seek adventure and novelty, and they appreciate both the familiar and the different. Strong regional and ethnic differences are important factors motivating tourists, as greater differences increase attractiveness. Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports activities combine competition, fitness, art, scientific exploration, and entertainment, exhibiting distinctiveness, extensive folklore, good fitness, strong entertainment, and viewing characteristics. By involving tourists, these activities achieve fitness, enjoyment, and understanding of ethnic customs and traditions. Simultaneously, they satisfy various psychological and physiological needs of visitors of different ages, genders, and professions, enhancing knowledge and prolonging life.

Zhanjiang's excellent tourism environment and source of visitors are fundamental guarantees for the development of Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports tourism industry. Zhanjiang's natural and cultural landscapes provide broad prospects for the development of traditional ethnic sports tourism. Zhanjiang's diverse styles, picturesque scenery, and rich folklore exude poetic charm, captivating visitors. As a significant component of cultural tourism resources, ethnic sports possess strong appeal and influence, allowing tourists to experience the joy and passion brought by ethnic sports firsthand.

Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports tourism resources have value in enhancing physical fitness and health, providing entertainment, offering thrilling and refreshing experiences, encouraging participation, showcasing cultural characteristics, contributing to scientific, economic, and cultural exploration, imparting ethnic qualities, reflecting historical values, and presenting aesthetic values. These factors provide favorable guarantees for the industrialized development of Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports tourism. In a market economy, any industry sector must have a market for its products or services to survive and thrive. For tourism, the market is the source of visitors, and tourists are the lifeline of the tourism industry. Nowadays, the pursuit of novelty, change, and pleasure are important motivations for outbound travel. Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports tourism meets the needs of seeking new experiences, sensations, and mental and physical enjoyment. Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports tourism, rich in ethnic charm and local features and combined with entertainment, will be increasingly loved by tourists. With a vast market of visitors and high demand, Zhanjiang's traditional ethnic sports tourism industry will continue to expand and industrialize rapidly.

Government Support

In 1995, the National Sports Commission issued the "Outline of National Fitness Program." The implementation of this outline aimed to vigorously develop sports activities for all ethnic groups in China, enhance people's physical fitness, and improve the overall population quality of the nation. This is a matter of great significance related to the prosperity of the country and the strength of the nation. The "Outline of National Fitness Program" proposed to "actively develop ethnic sports and widely promote sports and fitness activities centered around traditional ethnic sports projects in ethnic areas." This policy affirmation of the role of ethnic sports in the national fitness plan activities also provided a direction for the development of ethnic sports.

In response to the underdevelopment in Zhanjiang and surrounding areas, the Zhanjiang government formulated a series of plans aimed at accelerating the region's development. During the "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period, the level of investment from the national and Guangdong provincial governments was unprecedented, presenting Zhanjiang with its best development opportunities. The plan proposed that by the end of 2015, the development gap between Zhanjiang and the province would narrow, with Zhanjiang's comprehensive economic strength, living standards, social development, and ecological environment all making significant advancements.

Leveraging Characteristic Tourist Resources to Develop Traditional Sports Tourism Resources

The development of Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports tourism resources is best achieved by leveraging Zhanjiang's abundant coastal leisure and sports resources, along with its existing attractions and tourist routes. Relying on its unique tourism resources, Zhanjiang has carefully identified a batch of high-quality tourist attractions and key area development projects. By relying on these premium tourist attractions and key areas, Zhanjiang can develop local ethnic traditional sports tourism resources, thereby avoiding transportation inconveniences and ensuring convenient access for tourists to Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports projects.

This approach not only allows for broader promotion and publicity of these projects but also enlivens the attractions, enabling visitors to appreciate the colorful Zhanjiang ethnic traditional sports culture during their travels. Furthermore, tourists can personally engage in these activities, enjoying the pleasures of Zhanjiang's ethnic sports culture and achieving the goal of healthy tourism. By leveraging existing tourist spots, Zhanjiang can transplant ethnic traditional sports tourism projects from nearby rural areas into these attractions. Additionally, starting from ethnic villages and towns with local characteristics, profound historical culture, or tourism development value, Zhanjiang can develop ethnic traditional sports projects on-site and gradually expand outward, creating a wave of ethnic traditional sports tourism in Zhanjiang. The interaction between tourism development on Donghai Island and the inheritance of dragon dance should be considered a key strategy in Zhanjiang's tourism development.

Vigorously Developing Zhanjiang's Ethnic Traditional Festival Tourism

Festival sports resources represent a concentration of ethnic sports resources and serve as a platform to showcase a nation's sports spirit and forms to external audiences and media. Almost every successful industrialized sports region is accompanied by widely influential ethnic festival activities. For instance, dragon dances, lion dances, and dragon boat races during the Spring Festival and Dragon Boat Festival serve as platforms to concentrate efforts in promoting ethnic sports, eventually making their way into the National Games as official events, becoming high-level, standardized symbols for promoting Zhanjiang's ethnic festivals and sports.

Many entertaining sports activities during festivals spread to developed cities through tourists and become regular forms of leisure and entertainment for local residents. The sports activities during Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional festivals are excellent tourism resources. Developing Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional festival tourism is a great approach to promoting Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports tourism. There exists a cyclical relationship among tourists, traditional festivals, tourist source areas, ethnic sports resources, and the industrialization of these resources. Festivals play a crucial role in facilitating and expanding this cycle, while the industrialization of sports resources provides a continuous economic source for ethnic festivals and ethnic sports themselves.

Vigorous Development of Zhanjiang's Ethnic Traditional Sports Event Tourism.

Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports events possess four tourism attributes: spectacle, non-storability, integration, and cultural attachment. Firstly, Zhanjiang's ethnic sports events are highly spectacular. These traditional sports activities, created by various ethnic groups through long-term production and life practices, best reflect the distinctive cultural characteristics of the ethnic groups. For tourists who appreciate ethnic traditional culture, these traditional sports activities are the most appealing Zhanjiang ethnic cultural highlights, making them the most enjoyable programs. Secondly, Zhanjiang's ethnic sports events also exhibit non-storability. Thirdly, Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports events also showcase integration. They can induce athletes, spectators, volunteers, and others to engage in other types of tourism activities locally, greatly promoting the development of the local tourism market. Fourthly, Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports events also demonstrate cultural attachment. Each sports event, after being held, leaves behind a cultural legacy in the local space, enhancing the host's reputation, improving local sports venue facilities, and boosting the development of the local tourism industry. Given that Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports events inherently possess tourism attributes, developing Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports tourism is appropriate and feasible.

Training Zhanjiang's Ethnic Traditional Sports Tourism Professionals

The sports industry requires certain elements to function effectively as an industry:

Adequate economic resources invested in the sports field, reaching a certain level of input and output.

Sports activities reaching a certain scale and level, necessitating a considerable number of coaches and highly skilled athletes capable of delivering captivating high-level sports competitions and performances.

A certain number and scale of sports facilities, sports venues, and operational management personnel.

A sufficient number of coaches and instructors capable of guiding the public in fitness, bodybuilding exercises, and professional training, as well as a large number of sports enthusiasts with a sports mindset and habits, along with fans who enjoy watching competitive sports.

For Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports tourism to become a renowned tourism industry in the region, it must possess these three basic elements. Notably, two of these elements emphasize the importance of sports professionals, underscoring the pivotal role and significance of talent in developing and utilizing ethnic sports tourism resources.

Ethnic traditional sports tourism professionals refer to specialized individuals with basic theoretical knowledge and skills in tourism and sports, possessing specific abilities in guiding or performing ethnic traditional sports activities. They are suitable for engaging in ethnic traditional sports performances, guiding tours, providing sports tourism instruction, managing operations, developing tourism markets, and overseeing travel agencies in tourist spots, hotels, travel agencies, and outdoor sports clubs.

Currently, there is an extreme shortage of ethnic traditional sports tourism professionals in Zhanjiang. To successfully develop Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports tourism resources, a substantial number of ethnic traditional sports tourism professionals are required. The cultivation of ethnic traditional sports tourism professionals is the foundation and key to the success of Zhanjiang's ethnic traditional sports tourism. These professionals must not only understand ethnic traditional sports projects but also be familiar with tourism operations. Therefore, training ethnic traditional sports tourism professionals is a more challenging and demanding task compared to training general tourism professionals, requiring substantial investments in manpower, resources, and funds.

(References) список литературы

1. Jia Sunyong. Exploration of Development Strategies for Traditional Chinese Ethnic Sports under the Tide of Globalization [J]. Journal of Beijing Sport University, 2012, 35(8): 31-35.

2. Sun Qingbin. Basic Theoretical Issues on the Protection and Inheritance of Ethnic Traditional Sports Culture [J]. Journal of Xi'an Institute of Physical Education, 2012, 29(1): 67-71.

3. Wang Yong, Liu Zhuang. Re-examination of Ethnic Traditional Sports from the Perspective of Cultural Anthropology [J]. Journal of Chengdu Sport University, 2012, 38(6): 44-47.

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