DetrasDeLaCamera: The Chinese approach to cultural heritage

One of the most surprising things about touristing in China is that visiting the Forbidden City or a two thousand year old temple, you don't see crumbling old bricks; instead, everything is freshly renovated to look as good as new, like the set for a period drama about imperial China. To Western eyes, this looks like cultural vandalism - all the real heritage is destroyed - but the flocks of Chinese tourists don't seem to mind. According to my sister, being on the same ground as the original Confucius temple (for example) is enough for them, they're not interested in the actual bricks and mortar. She attributes this to China being a more literary than visual culture, but one thing that contradicts that is the thousands of photos Chinese tourists take of absolutely everything - every pot in a museum, every flower in a garden, all the information signs. I think in the West we cultural snobs generally see that as a reductive response, especially to art - tourists taking pictures of the Mona Lisa are putting it on the same intellectual plane as a snapshot of their dog, rather than engaging with it as art - but my sister sees it as evidence the Chinese are less elitist about high culture, less afraid to discuss things loudly in museums instead of maintaining a respectful silence, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Improved economic conditions for many in China, and the difficulties of foreign travel, means domestic tourism is enjoying a huge boom and you can't move at tourist attractions for Chinese tour groups - so here's some pictures of Chinese tourists and their rather interactive engagement with history.