Why young people seek “good explanations” in cultural tours
Over 60% of the interviewed youth felt that their trip was worthwhile because of the “good explanation”
China Youth Daily·China Youth Daily reporter Wang Zhiwei
Visit ancient buildings and monuments, visit the former residences of celebrities, and visit cultural and museum venues... During this year's National Day holiday, cultural tourism is booming. Young people are visiting scenic spots and learning about local culture during the trip. With the rise of cultural tourism, "good guides" are in high demand, and popular guides who are "good at speaking" are already fully booked. Why do young people seek "good explanations" in cultural tours? What is a “good explanation” in everyone’s mind? Recently, a survey of 1,000 young people published by the China Youth Daily Social Survey Center (wenjuan.com) showed that 61.0% of the young people surveyed believe that "good explanation" must be vivid, and 56.7% of the young people surveyed believe that the content must be accurate. 62.0% of the young people surveyed would feel that the trip was worthwhile because they heard "good explanations" during the cultural tour.
What is a “good explanation” in everyone’s mind?
"The Yungang Grottoes are the first grottoes authorized by the royal family in my country. Tan Yao started the excavation work of the grottoes with the support of Emperor Wencheng of the Northern Wei Dynasty. When talking about this period of history, I will compare the royal family represented by Emperor Wen Cheng to Party A, and Tan Yao to the project manager, the executing Party B. Through modern metaphors and language, tourists can have a more sense of involvement and deepen their impression of this period of history." Said a 46-year-old from Datong, Shanxi. The tour guide Ma Ruiwu is a senior tour guide who has been engaged in tour guide work for 22 years. This gave him a deeper understanding of the job of a tour guide. "A good explanation must not be based on what is written, but should be entertaining and explain the profound things in a simple way, and use a relaxed, humorous, vivid and humorous language style to tell the historical facts to tourists. On the basis of following historical facts, it is close to the psychological needs and expression style of today's young people."
During this year's National Day holiday, Datong, Shanxi Province is one of the popular tourist destinations in China. Ma Ruiwu was busy receiving tourists from all over the country. "Throughout the National Day holiday, the explanation service was fully arranged."
Bai Wei, a post-90s generation in Beijing, takes her children on trips several times a year, and cultural and museum venues are places where she often takes her children to check in. "Good explanations are hard to come by. When I take my children to visit museums now, I will search for information about instructors on social platforms in advance and give priority to those with good reviews." Bai Wei believes that the most important thing about "good explanations" is to explain the historical facts clearly and the content of the explanations is authentic and testable. "In addition, it is also important to explain obscure historical knowledge in a way that people are willing to listen to it. Especially for children who lack understanding of history, it is also important to make them listen, understand and be interested."
Zhang Ming, who was born after 1995 in Anhui, believes that it is best for the guides to have a relatively in-depth understanding of the local area. During the explanation process, they can intersperse the local cultural customs and recommend places worth visiting, "helping everyone understand and understand the local area more comprehensively."
In cultural tourism, what do you think is a “good explanation”? The survey shows that 61.0% of the young people surveyed believe that the speech must be vivid and the culture can be brought to life; 56.7% of the young people surveyed believe that the content must be accurate, based on historical facts, and not made up; 52.0% of the young people surveyed believe that it must have its own understanding or point of view, and talk about details that are not in the book. Others include: it can connect different knowledge points to help build overall understanding (48.1%); the explainer is a local person and combines the real feelings of his own life (38.0%); it can answer questions interactively, not one-way output (32.8%); the pace is moderate, leaving time for oneself to see and feel (30.9%); the price is close to the people, making people feel that it is worth the money (25.1%).
Thoughtful and in-depth communication explanations are becoming more and more popular
"The land under my feet has raised us up, and I have deep feelings for it." As a native of Anyang, Henan Province, Jiang Li, a tour guide with more than 20 years of experience, really wants to tell the ancient history of this land in his hometown to tourists from all over the country, so that their trip will be worthwhile. "Anyang is an important archaeological site in my country. The Yin Ruins archeology has a history of nearly a hundred years. Generations of archaeologists have been tracing the historical context of the Shang Dynasty on this land until now." Jiang Li believes that a good interpreter should not only have a complete knowledge system, solid historical skills, and vivid expression skills, but also have a passion for explanation. "Explaining is not only a job, but also a mission for me. Because of my love, I am more willing to learn new knowledge. Every time I learn a new knowledge point, I am very happy and feel that I have new content to share with everyone."
"As the quality of the people gets higher and higher, people's demand for 'good explanations' has also increased accordingly." Jiang Li said that many tourists will learn about the places they visit in advance through books and online videos. When listening to the explanations, they will ask the commentators questions they want to know, hoping to get answers. For questions that are inconclusive, they hope to hear the commentators' personal opinions. "Generally speaking, it is gradually becoming a thing of the past to just take a quick tour and listen to general explanations. The explanation form that allows for the exchange of ideas and in-depth communication is welcomed by more and more people."
The survey shows that 62.0% of the young people surveyed would feel that the trip was worthwhile after hearing "good explanations" during cultural tours.
Bai Wei said that when she took her children to visit the Sanxingdui Museum before, they met a docent who gave a good lecture. "She will use questions to arouse the children's interest, such as 'Why are the eyes of the bronze man so big?', etc., allowing the children to take the initiative to observe, think, and finally answer the questions. This interactive question-and-answer method will make the children more impressed. After listening to the explanation, I feel that this trip is not in vain, and it is a lot of knowledge."
Regarding the expectations of interpretation services in cultural tours, 64.5% of the young people surveyed hope that the content of the interpretation is accurate and avoid historical errors and fabrications; 52.3% of the young people surveyed hope that the price will be more standardized and clear; 50.2% of the young people surveyed hope that the qualifications of the interpreters will be more transparent, and their background and reputation can be checked; 45.8% of the young people surveyed hope that more local people will participate in the interpretation so that local culture can be heard.
Others include: the duration and rhythm of explanations are more flexible (35.2%); combining new technologies such as AI to enrich explanation formats (31.9%); small groups or one-on-one, allowing for full interaction (18.5%); and explanations in dialects (7.7%).
Zhang Ming hopes to strengthen the qualification review of tour guides and commentators to protect everyone's safety and rights. "In addition, I hope the price of the tour guide can be made more open and transparent, so that everyone can choose a suitable tour guide after understanding it clearly."
Ma Ruiwu believes that there is still a lot of chaos in the tour guide and explanation industry, and there is also a mix of good and bad practitioners. "It is hoped that relevant industry associations or competent authorities will strengthen the training of practitioners and adopt appropriate assessment methods to improve the quality of practitioners. In addition, we must establish excellent tour guide models and play their role in leading demonstrations and 'teaching and helping'." In addition, Ma Ruiwu hopes to further strengthen the social security of tour guides and explanation practitioners, such as linking the tour guide level with the sequence of professional titles, increasing basic wages, etc. "With room for improvement, everyone will be more motivated, and the entire industry will form a positive and positive cycle."
Among the young people interviewed, 43.5% were male and 56.5% were female. Post-05s accounted for 4.8%, post-00s accounted for 27.8%, post-95s accounted for 22.9%, post-90s accounted for 21.3%, and post-85s accounted for 23.2%. 35.4% are from first-tier cities, 37.0% are from second-tier cities, 18.8% are from third- and fourth-tier cities, 6.2% are from counties or towns, and 2.6% are from rural areas.
(At the request of the interviewee, Bai Wei is a pseudonym)
