The theme park industry in China: A research review

Abstract

In China, visiting theme parks has become a popular urban leisure activity, and the theme park is frequently used to project a healthy image of urban tourism. The popularity of theme parks draws academic attention to examining various issues related to the theme park sector. This review classifies and analyses 145 articles published in key Chinese journals over the past twenty-five years to identify the areas of concentration and the gaps in the research related to this field. The journal articles are conceptualised into three general areas of interest, and each area contains several categories. The first area is coded as ‘theme park as product’, including categories of thematic identity, cultural heritage, and lifecycle. The second area is coded as “theme park as industry”, including categories of management, competitive strategies, the tourism industry and the creative industry. The third area is coded as “theme park as city infrastructure”, including categories of urban planning and the local economy. Discourse on the theme park within the Chinese context is twofold. On the one hand, the theme park is a complex result of modernisation by demonstrating progress in urbanisation. On the other hand, the theme park serves as a representation of postmodernism by contributing to the confusion between the arts and the everyday life. Although previous research on the theme park industry has addressed various topics, this article notes a need to more thoroughly examine the environmental and socio-cultural impacts of theme parks on host communities.

Keywords

• theme park
• urban tourism
• leisure culture
• china
• literature review