IN-PERSON London Heritages. Section A

Abstract

Living heritage, an emerging concept in international cultural heritage practices, was introduced in the 2003 Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage. Closely tied to the concept of intangible cultural heritage, it emphasizes the evolving nature of heritage as communities reinterpret practices to maintain relevance. Unlike traditional approaches focusing on monuments or artefacts, living heritage highlights people’s skills, creativity, and roles as tradition bearers. However, as Arjun Appadurai (1996) noted in Modernity at Large, modern societies are far more complex than the theories devised to explain them in the context of globalisation. This calls for an exploration of how living heritage theory can adapt to local practices. As a part of the PhD research project, this presentation explores the local adaptation of living heritage through the case of Wudadao, Tianjin, China, a former British colonial district now designated for cultural tourism and heritage conservation. Over the past 75 years, significant social events—including the founding of the People’s Republic of China (1949), the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), and the Tangshan earthquake (1976)—have transformed the area’s demographics from an elite community to a working-class and migrant population. However, the local heritage strategies show a trend of focusing on colonial-era heritage while neglecting working-class narratives, which has led to challenges in conserving cultural diversity for sustainable development. By examining Wudadao, this research argues that living heritage should be developed comprehensively by integrating sociocultural contexts into the theory framework, which can better address local realities in a globalising era.