Relational authenticity and reconstructed heritage space: A balance of heritage preservation, tourism, and urban renewal in Luoyang Silk Road Dingding Gate

Abstract

Authenticity is a controversial concept in heritage studies. This is particularly the case where the reconstruction of heritage spaces is carried out to facilitate multiple objectives, namely, preservation, tourism development and improving the quality of life of local residents. Based on a qualitative methodology with a case study approach, this paper uses participant observation, in-depth interviews and textual analysis to explore the varying perceptions of authenticity for a reconstructed heritage site from the point of view of heritage experts, tourists and local residents. We identify a form of 'relational authenticity'. Using the Dingding Gate, part of the Luoyang World Heritage section of the Silk Road, this paper highlights the phenomenon of 'reconstructed heritage space' with the relational authenticity of different actors in the Chinese context. We argue that relational authenticity is embedded in the networks between people, place, and (re)materialized space, which is the assemblage of excavated original objects and reconstructed buildings and spaces. Relational authenticity is acquired through a rematerializing process engaged by actors, who focus on the material qualities, instead of material authenticity and originality, of the original excavated objects and later reconstructed space.