Grace’s mission is all about personality

Grace Gao is on a mission to help the Chinese city of Suzhou attract tourists without losing the personality which makes it so popular.

Ms Gao has started a PhD at The University of Queensland’s School of Tourism, looking at ways to showcase traditional city attractions such as its ancient gardens and culture.

Yet her PhD, using the working title Regeneration of Intangible Cultural Heritage in a Modern City, will also look at ensuring globalisation does not water down Suzhou’s charm and personality.

“All cities are developing. Their character could disappear. We want to find intangible things that belong to Suzhou to show the personality of the city,” the 34-year-old from Chapel Hill said.

“In my opinion, the buildings in different cities are going to be different – but the more important thing is the culture.

“We are trying to protect the intangible cultural heritage of Suzhou. We use it to design experiences for tourists. That is things they can see, feel and hear. When they see something similar in the future, they will think of Suzhou.”

Ms Gao, who grew up and worked in Suzhou, near Shanghai, said the city had gardens dating back 1000 years and ancient buildings, as well as modern architecture and infrastructure.

But it was the ancient and culturally-significant sights which tourists from around China wanted to see, she said.

“People in China have an image of Suzhou because some stories and poems about the city are very famous. They are even well-known among pupils in primary school.

“They know something about the city. They have an expectation before they come. We want their expectations to be met. The Suzhou personality is that of a traditional Chinese city. For Chinese tourists, we want to show that tradition.”

Parts of the city had been preserved to showcase its heritage, with residents living a traditional lifestyle and practicing age-old trades.

Ms Gao said the greatest source of tourists for Suzhou was within China, with people from Japan the second largest group. Then came tourists from South Korea, the US, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore the UK and France.

Media: Grace Gao (0413 945 061) or Erik de Wit (0417 088 772)