THE EVOLUTION MECHANISM OF PERCEIVED AUTHENTICITY AMONG TOURISTS IN ANCIENT TOWNS: A CASE STUDY OF YANGLIUQING

MA Xiao-long; GUAN Wen-zheng-ze; GUO Jia-xin

doi:10.13959/j.issn.1003-2398.2026.02.017

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HUMAN GEOGRAPHY ›› 2026, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (2) : 162-173. DOI: 10.13959/j.issn.1003-2398.2026.02.017

TOURISM

THE EVOLUTION MECHANISM OF PERCEIVED AUTHENTICITY AMONG TOURISTS IN ANCIENT TOWNS: A CASE STUDY OF YANGLIUQING

MA Xiao-long, GUAN Wen-zheng-ze, GUO Jia-xin

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Abstract

It is recognized that perceived authenticity exerts a significant influence on tourists' travel experiences, whereas perceptions of a destination's authenticity are readily undermined by external cultural interventions. Against the backdrop of Chinese ancient town tourism development-within which extensive external cultural elements have been introduced-the exploration of the evolutionary mechanisms of tourists' perceived authenticity is regarded as critically important for the development of such destinations. On the basis of in-depth interviews with fifty-two respondents and participatory on-site observation, the stage-specific characteristics of tourists' perceived authenticity, as well as the mechanisms of its evolution across different phases of the visit, are revealed. The findings show that the perceived authenticity of visitors to Yangliuqing ancient town is manifested as a three-stage evolution of "aspirational authenticity," "partial authenticity," and "beautified authenticity." The typology and progression of this process are delineated accordingly. It is further argued that the essence of the evolution of perceived authenticity during the various stages of tourism is the result of continuous changes in tourists' psychological distance to the ancient town, which give rise to corresponding changes in the level of cognitive construal. This argument is advanced under the guidance of the framework of "tourism process-psychological distance-construal level, " by which the relationships among the phases of the visit, perceived distance, and the abstraction of interpretation are organized.

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ancient towns / perceived authenticity / authenticity / tourist experience / mechanism

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MA Xiao-long, GUAN Wen-zheng-ze, GUO Jia-xin. THE EVOLUTION MECHANISM OF PERCEIVED AUTHENTICITY AMONG TOURISTS IN ANCIENT TOWNS: A CASE STUDY OF YANGLIUQING[J]. HUMAN GEOGRAPHY. 2026, 41(2): 162-173 https://doi.org/10.13959/j.issn.1003-2398.2026.02.017

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