Exploring Rural Discourses: Mobile App Representation of Hongcun, China in Tripadvisor

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

Mobile media have a strong influence on the reproduction process of place representation. This article aims to investigate how mobile communications represent the discourse of rurality. This study addresses the question through a case study of rural villages in China. Using the associative terms “ancient villages” of China–referred to as gucunluo ( )–the current study contributes to findings on these systems and patterns as the cultural concepts of the study. The study employs a qualitative case study methodology to investigate the rural discourses through mobile app representations of Hongcun, China, on TripAdvisor. The method opens the complexities of the cultural heritage village in the digital platform. The study uses intertextual analysis through images and reviews, interdiscursivity through walkthrough analysis, and literature analysis as the social reproduction process. The findings contribute to the nuance of rural discourse in the digital media, the implication to preservation and visitor experiences.