A Readable Wukang Building: A Case Study on Cultural Sustainable Tourism (CST)

Old houses hidden in old trees, Shikumen in the old alley, a-century-long exotic building clusters in the Bund, which demonstrates the historical, cultural and international city of Shanghai, allures people locally and abroad. Taking the almost 100-year-old Wukang Building as a case study, this paper aims to explore a novel touring mode featured with local characteristics in response to cultural sustainable tourism. Launched by Shanghai’s municipal government, the project, “a Readable Building”, is set to amply revitalize the existing antiqued buildings in the city and make them Internet celebrities through the implementation of storytelling, various activities and eye-catching souvenirs with the logos of the buildings to attract tourists as well as boost the local economy. Based on qualitative and quantitative analyses, this paper clarifies the project’s process and its favorable results. Hopefully, this paper will help introduce this successfully proven, reproducible, and applicable new touring mode to the rest of the world to further the efforts of Cultural Sustainable Tourism.