*4.1. Omission of Cultural Value*

From the historical development, the excavation of the Meiguan Historical Trail is inextricably linked to the political and economic development of the Lingnan region. Since the opening of the Grand Canal in the Sui Dynasty, material exchanges between the north and the south have significantly changed in Chinese history. In addition, the economic and cultural exchanges became more frequent, especially in Guangzhou, a trading port with closer exchanges with the interior, making it necessary to open a significant transportation route connecting the south and the north in the Lingnan region. Since the Tang Dynasty (716 AD), the Meiguan Historical Trail, as a medium for trade, military, and cultural exchanges, has experienced the prosperous stage in the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the transition from prosperity to decline at the end of the Qing Dynasty, and the transformation of cultural and leisure functions in the modern period. Since the silence for more than 40 years, Meiguan Historical Trail has been protected from 1989 to 2010, but the protection planning of LCH is still at a relatively macro level. It has not explicitly covered specific cultural relics and monuments at all levels of the historical trail. The plans show that the local government did not realize the overall value of the Meiguan Historical Trail and the villages and cultural resources along it. However, they equated it with a common monolithic cultural heritage for tourism. Residents' recognition of local culture and sense of belonging is not strong.

*We also know that cultural heritage needs to be repaired and protected, but the government lacks funds and does not pay special attention to it. The resources are all scattered, one here and one there. The value of a single point is not high, and tourism cannot be developed after it is repaired. It is not easy to apply for special funds. So, we kept it there and did not advance much. At most, it is the ones that are the focus of protection, the ones that are of higher value, and the others who are powerless. (G1)*

*The old houses in the past were useless and dilapidated. Other people have made money outside, and they have all built a new house, which is big, beautiful, and comfortable. (R5)*

The protective actions before 2015 show that the fragmented resources of the Meiguan Historical Trail have weakened the local government's judgment on its cultural value. During this period, the cultural value of the Meiguan Historical Trail was limited to the Nanxiong Government level. It did not involve the cultural value of the South China Historical Trail at the Guangdong level. The ruins of villages and historical buildings that classify as linear have not been well restored and utilized. From the cognition of the local government and residents of places that classify as linear, the cultural value of the Meiguan Historical Trail is lacking, driven by the demand for modernization. Due to the temporary lack of necessary funding sources and scientific planning plans by local governments, the restoration and utilization of the Meiguan Historical Trail lack attention to the overall cultural value of LCH. The omission of cultural value caused the Meiguan Historical Trail to experience a long period of silence.

#### *4.2. Weighting of Cultural Value*

In China, economic, social, and cultural development mainly stems from guidance and support at the national level, especially in remote cultural heritage sites and poor villages [45]. As a spatial carrier of historical evolution, the South China Historical Trail shows the characteristics of the country's regional culture. It is an essential carrier for the integration and interaction of urban and rural economies [17]. Based on national strategies, such as rural revitalization and coordinated regional development, the restoration of the South China Historical Trail has carried new tasks and has become a political practice symbol for implementing these national strategies. Under the rendering of developmental doctrine words, such as "cultural heritage protection", "greenway construction", and "rural revitalization", the value condensed in the body of the Meiguan Historical Trail was separated and transformed. The modern function underwent a massive transformation through implementing policies at the grassroots level and investment attraction. The

Meiguan Historical Trail has gradually shown a way of rural revitalization, with the vital meaning of connecting the remains of old stations that classify as linear, historical villages and towns, cultural relics and monuments, and natural landscape resources to meet the needs of the public in modern life [11]. Figures 2 and 3 show the changes to the Meiguan Historical Trail.

**Figure 2.** Meiguan Historical Trail before the project. Source: the authors.

**Figure 3.** Meiguan Historical Trail after the project. Source: the authors.

*The South China Historical Trail revitalization was carried out after comprehensive research and demonstration by experts and the government. The South China Historical Trail has essential value and significance for constructing a solid cultural province in Guangdong. Moreover, there are many cultural heritage resources scattered around the linear. A single point may be of little value, but it differs from stringing these points together with a unified theme. There are also many poor villages along the South China Historical Trail. Meiguan Historical Trail is not an exception. It is widely present in Guangdong Province. Guangdong's economy is uneven, with the wealthiest cities and poorest villages. Therefore, all revitalization and utilization are promoted based on the cultural heritage and cultural value of the South China Historical Trail. In 2016, the Government of Guangdong proposed to repair the South China Historical Trail, and the province's efforts were used to promote this matter. (V2)*

The original function of the Meiguan Historical Trail in the linear space is as a land medium for north–south communication. The South China Historical Trail now shows the characteristics of the country's regional culture and is an essential carrier for the integration and interaction of urban and rural economies. The proposal for the revitalization and utilization project of the South China Historical Trail redistributes and weights the cultural value:

1. Cultural and ecological restoration transformed the historical trail and the village landscape along it into the initial linear landscape value, integrating it into the linear space of the entire province.


*After the start of the South China Historical Trail project, municipal governments at all levels have corresponding tasks to complete. There is exceptional funding support from provincial finance every year. The province has issued many standard documents, including protection and restoration guidelines, identification system design guidelines, protection and utilization master plans, and management and maintenance mechanism research. The provincial government has financial support, but there are also work requirements. The province has unified standards, and the restoration of every ancient road must be carried out following the requirements. It is not by temperament but by doing whatever you want. (G1)*

As an essential demonstration section of the South China Historical Trail, the local government of the Meiguan Historical Trail, under the norms and guidance of various plans of the higher-level government, excavated cultural characteristics through various means. In addition to protecting cultural heritage, cultural production is realized more through activation and utilization. In the spatial reconstruction of LCH, local governments have played a vital role in the authoritative certification of cultural values [47]. Accordingly, specific spatial reconstruction activities are also embedded in the planning framework of higher-level governments for local governments [48]. The revitalization and utilization project of the South China Historical Trail represents the weighting and transfer of the cultural value of the Meiguan Historical Trail. The accompanying planning plans determine the content and standards of the spatial reconstruction and guide the practices. Figures 4 and 5 show the changes to the Lingtan Village along the Meiguan Historical Trail.

**Figure 4.** Lingtan Village before the project. Source: the authors.

**Figure 5.** Lingtan Village after the project. Source: the authors.

#### **5. Cultural Practice in the Spatial Reconstruction of LCH**

#### *5.1. Government-Led Cultural Production*

Restoring integrity is an essential practice in the spatial reconstruction of LCH. The cultural production of the Meiguan Historical Trail is not "produced out of thin air". The local government focuses on the repair and revitalization of the main body of the Meiguan Historical Trail and the village buildings that classify as linear. Based on the overall plan for the protection and utilization of the South China Historical Trail, the local government has adjusted the plan to meet the protection requirements and satisfy the market demand. Specifically, the local government has implanted the design of modern elements in the restoration of the historical trail, and its positioning has also been adjusted from the original "traffic route" to the "cultural route". In order to build the Meiguan Historical Trail into a cultural consumption space, the local government has implanted tourism, sports, festivals, and other elements based on restoration and connecting the cultural content and natural landscapes on the Meiguan Historical Trail.

*The restoration of the Meiguan Historical Trail was conducted for sustainability. Our primary starting point is protection, so we restore as much as possible. Many roads of the Meiguan Historical Trail are incomplete. All of them are grass. What we see now is restored, and the materials are based on history and local stones. (V2)*

Although historical materials provide an imaginary entity for the restoration of the South China Historical Trail to be copied, in the planners' view, this authenticity was constructed by them [49]. Regarding local image construction, the Meiguan Historical Trail relies on theme festivals to realize cultural representations, such as the Plum Blossom Festival, the Surname Culture Festival, and hiking activities. Local governments consciously make selective use of the culture of space and invent creatively to enrich the content and significance of culture with festival activities [50]. At the same time, the integrity at the core of the Meiguan Historical Trail culture is constantly emphasized. It is worth noting that modern cultural elements are not mechanically embedded in the spatial production of the Meiguan Historical Trail but are placed by local governments and planners. Furthermore, after being given cultural significance for consumption by tourists, the South China Historical Trail, with its surrounding villages, has also been branded with commercialized symbolic features [51].

The restored Meiguan Historical Trail is essentially embodied as a cultural product, and its commercial value lies in the tourism market. For example, a direct economic return from the Meiguan Historical Trail is tickets costing CNY 40 per person for the tourist attraction. The villages also enjoyed the dividends of tourism in the construction of living environments and income. In order to cope with the increasingly fierce competition between places, the government authorities have adopted local policies to enhance the "economic competitiveness of specific places, regions, or related scales" [11]. As a direct result, these authorities have consolidated the logic of profitability and economic growth within their political jurisdiction to create or restructure their territory, population, built environment, and competitive advantages of economic subjects [52]. Although the policy background is not the same, this theory has been confirmed in the practice of spatial reconstruction of the Meiguan Historical Trail. For example, each section of the Meiguan Historical Trail will be repaired following the unified standard of repairing the old as the old and maintaining the authenticity so that the LCH will consolidate its competitiveness in the tourism market. Therefore, this article echoes Brenner's argument [53] that local policies may try to "enhance local advantages in the division of consumption space by creating or strengthening localized infrastructure for tourism and leisure functions". In addition to being a commodity of the tourism industry, the South China Historical Trail also represents an important historical and cultural source in Guangdong.

*The South China Historical Trail has witnessed the changes and development of the history and culture of Guangdong, which cannot be ignored. Without the South China Historical Trail, Guangdong's history would be inconsistent. The role of the South China Historical Trail is to*

*condense the culture of Guangdong. The culture of the Meiguan Historical Trail is an integral part of the South China Historical Trail and is Guangdong's historical and cultural accumulation. (G5)*

For the government, restoring the Meiguan Historical Trail can protect cultural heritages and connect resources that classify as linear to enhance the competitiveness of the villages in the tourism market through the construction of significance. In addition, the South China Historical Trail represents the long-established southern Guangdong culture. It has enhanced the sense of pride and identity of Guangdong, the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area, and other places. The connection between heritage sites and national pride is a symbolic means by which the local ruling elite interprets the culture and South China Historical Trail and national core. The Meiguan Historical Trail has provided tangible evidence of the prosperous economic exchanges between the north and the south in history. Through this symbolic connection, the local ruling elite hopes to revive the cultural heritage of the Meiguan Historical Trail and add meaning so that both residents and the tourism market can accept it. For this group, Meiguan Historical Trail is such a localization project that it is a booster for rural revitalization. It aims to portray the South China Historical Trail in a positive and even eye-catching image to attract more tourists and accelerate the development of villages along the route.
