Earthquake Ruins and Post-disaster Tourism after the Sichuan Earthquake in China

Abstract

　This paper focuses on the relationship between earthquake ruins and tourism in the post-disaster reconstruction of the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Tourism has become an important pillar for post-earthquake economic recovery, and earthquake ruins have been regarded as one of the new forms for tourism resources. The Chinese government promoted large-scale post-disaster development and declared accomplishment of recovery in two and a half years, advertising the victory of China's distinctive socialism overcoming the earthquake, under the strong leadership of the Chinese Communist Party. Earthquake ruins have become a place to show the fast and strong national resilience as "red tourism " destinations. However, people do not recover their livelihood at the same speed and in the same manner as the government declared. This paper examines the gap between national resilience and livelihood resilience of local people in the post-disaster reconstruction process after the Sichuan earthquake and explores the significance of earthquake ruins tourism.