Spatial Foundations and Sustainable Pathways for Sports-Culture-Tourism Synergy in Chinese Traditional Villages: Evidence from Liantang Village, Xiamen
List of Authors
Hasnul Faizal Hushin Amri, Mazlan Che Soh, Wang Changlong
Keyword
Sports–Culture–Tourism Integration; Cultural Space; Traditional Villages; Spatial Transformation; Rural Sustainability
Abstract
The integrated development of sports, culture, and tourism (SCT) has become an important strategy for promoting sustainable rural development and cultural revitalization. While existing studies have largely focused on urban contexts, mega-events, and industrial integration, insufficient attention has been paid to traditional villages as micro-level cultural spaces where SCT integration is deeply embedded in everyday life. Drawing on cultural space theory and the perspective of the “spatial turn,” this study examines the spatial foundations, transformation mechanisms, and realization pathways of SCT integration in traditional villages through an in-depth qualitative case study of Liantang Village in Xiamen, China. Based on field observations, semi-structured interviews, and document analysis, the study finds that SCT integration in traditional villages is essentially a process of cultural space reconstruction involving material, social, and symbolic dimensions. The findings contribute to the theoretical expansion of SCT studies by shifting the analytical focus from industrial integration to spatial and cultural mechanisms, and provide practical insights for sustainable village-based tourism development.