*5.2. Cultural Identity of Local Residents*

In the process of spatial reconstruction, the ecological mechanism of traditional culture and the cultural values of local subjects all play an essential role [54]. The cultural atmosphere represents regional culture, which is of great significance to the formation of the core attractiveness of tourist destinations and the deepening of the local identity of residents [55]. In the context of rural revitalization, LCH gives full play to its cultural advantages to drive the development of villages that classify as linear. It should be pointed out that in the process of spatial reconstruction, the culture of the Meiguan Historical Trail was re-recognized and produced by residents.

*In the past, Lingtan Village was called "Mud Pool Village," with dilapidated houses and mud roads. Thanks to the Meiguan Historical Trail, the government has paid attention to us. After the transformation, life slowly got better. Now we can also attract some people to travel here and make some money by selling local specialties. We will not be embarrassed to talk about Lingtan Village to others. People outside envy us. (R11)*

In addition to the expression of words, the residents' cultural identity with the spatial reconstruction of the Meiguan Historical Trail is also manifested in their direct participation in cultural production through business activities. Influenced by local history and culture, residents "invariably" have evident local cultural orientations when choosing business content, such as long cigarettes, Meiling goose king, and other commodities. These characteristic products are subjectively active by residents and an essential factor in the production and expression of Meiguan Historical Trail culture. On the one hand, Nanxiong has been a place where tobacco leaves have been produced since ancient times. Today, the villagers' homemade extended versions of earthen cigarettes are sold along the Meiguan Historical Trail and in ancient houses. Lengthened cigarettes have also become one of the local characteristic commodities. At the same time, the villages along the Meiguan Historical Trail have also developed the local dish Meiling Goose King into a specialty dish. The signs of Meiling Goose King can be seen everywhere, and it has become one of the iconic foods of Nanxiong. In addition, most tourist souvenirs are peripheral products with the theme of surnames, further strengthening Zhuji Ancient Lane's surname culture. The reconstruction of space has not only brought tourists but also brought tourism income to the place. The original poor village has become a bright and beautiful countryside. Local subjects participated in the planning and design process of the revitalization and utilization project of the Meiguan Historical Trail. With the benefits of tourism development, local culture has been re-recognized and produced by the locals. Under the government-led cultural production, the residents' active recognition and practice of the spatial reconstruction of the Meiguan Historical Trail in their consciousness reflect the cultural identity and cultural production in the spatial reconstruction of linear cultural heritage.

*After the Meiguan Historical Trail began to develop tourism, the environment in the village became much better. Many old houses in the past were dangerous. The new house is spacious and beautiful and much more comfortable to live in. We hope tourism will improve so that there will be more tourists and income, and the children at home will be guaranteed to go to school. (R16)*

#### *5.3. Cultural Consumption of Tourists*

Of course, the restoration and utilization of the Meiguan Historical Trail are cultureoriented. However, government publicity and marketing by residents will encourage tourists to consume culture here to achieve profitability. Therefore, the perception and experience of tourists have become a necessary reference basis for the government and residents to carry out spatial reconstruction [56,57]. Although tourists do not directly interfere in the spatial reconstruction of the Meiguan Historical Trail, the identity of cultural consumers makes them a member of the subject of power and participate in the cultural construction of the Meiguan Historical Trail in the form of a familiar presence.

In order to cater to the diversified cultural consumption needs of tourists, the Meiguan Historical Trail connects the surrounding greenways and integrates the resources of traditional villages that classify as linear. Based on diversified cultural resources, such as red culture, Guangfu culture, and Hakka culture, the Meiguan Historical Trail is combined with orienteering events, resulting in the Meiguan Historical Trail showing a situation where traditional culture and modern culture are mixed [58]. The multicultural cultural landscape has led to the negative cultural experience of some tourists.

*I do not get an intense atmosphere of culture. However, the government has done much, from the changes in villages and the publicity columns. However, I can't feel any cultural heritage. The cultural atmosphere of Zhuji Ancient Lane is slightly better, mainly based on ancestral hall culture and surname culture. However, it feels like nothing is directly related to Meiguan Historical Trail. (T1)*

Some tourists also believe that the cultural representation of the Meiguan Historical Trail has not been fully highlighted. In recent years, scholars have continuously reflected on the tendency of "cultural commercialization" and "commercialization" in the process of globalization. They have gradually realized that local culture can use individual reflection to fight against global cultural hegemony [59]. The local government tried highlighting the local advantages and used the Meiguan Historical Trail to package and develop all the resources that classify as linear. On the contrary, it led to a negative cultural experience for some tourists. On the contrary, various representations of the local culture are more popular and favored by tourists.

*It feels like this is an ordinary road. It has not been fully developed, so it is not convenient to do anything. The experiential nature is not enough, just look at it, and it has gone. I feel that the culture has not been excavated much, and the experience is not very good. (T6)*

The cultural experience needs of tourists are closely related to the activation and utilization of LCH, and the original cultural elements of local society are generally considered valuable. However, constructing a more attractive LCH requires injecting more current local culture and art [60]. If LCH is only restored, the lack of connection with tourism needs in its utilization may reduce it to an empty physical space, making it challenging to obtain the cultural identity of tourists and then lose the inherent motivation for sustainable development [40].

#### **6. Conclusions and Discussion**

#### *6.1. Academic Implications*

The aim of this article has been to further the understanding of LCH production as rural local policies through a focus on the process of reconstruction and interpretation in Meiguan Historical Trail. Based on the theory of spatial production, this paper critically examines how the Guangdong provincial government incorporates linear cultural heritage

production into the regional policies formulated by the local government. At the same time, it also emphasizes the compliance of local residents to national efforts and the doubts of tourists to national efforts, further explaining the dynamics of heritage production. Along with the return process of authenticity, alienation, and the construction of heritage, the value and significance of LCH transcend themselves in the reconstruction [61,62]. From the perspective of the market logic of tourism development, the ancient bridges, fences, and other single resource units scattered in the villages along the Meiguan Historical Trail cannot achieve independent commercial value. In order to enhance local competitiveness in the tourism market, the government has made an alternative interpretation of the character of the dispersion of LCH, which represents a strong concatenation and local cultural pride. After officially recognizing this cultural value, revitalization, and utilization projects are advancing rapidly. This discovery confirms the argument of Winchester [63] that the landscape plays a leading role in the naturalization of the ideological system because "the landscape dominates in daily life and has a very tangible and visible material nature, making the things constructed by society seem to be the natural order of things". Therefore, the interpretation of cultural values in line with the ruling elite's interests means that "a process of intentional selection and connection provides historical and cultural recognition of the contemporary order" [11]. As Brenner suggested, the government authorities took action to mobilize space as productivity [53]. More specifically, LCH has been widely incorporated into China's rural political economy, and heritage products are produced through the government to "promote and encourage local development and employment growth" [35,64]. This function is similar to cultural heritage corridors [25]. Therefore, this article clarifies the critical role of linear cultural heritage production in China's rural political economy. Consistent with the recent research on the politics of heritage production in other cases, this research has shifted from the linear theorization of heritage as a means of control and exclusion to the more complex conceptualization of heritage as a dispute and negotiation of capital, memory, and identity.

Our research also contributes to expanding the analytical dimension of space production. This study further effectively links "culture" as a core element with the theory of space production and expands the cultural dimension [41]. The transformation of LCH and cultural consumption space is a contested terrain in which its production is continuously negotiated and reworked with the associated practices of dominance and resistance to transform place and space. Culture and power dominate the space production of the Meiguan Historical Trail, and the spatial practice of the current residents' re-identity has also added many grassroot elements of local culture to the Meiguan Historical Trail. However, the government's choice is not entirely undisputed. A series of cultural packaging decisions by the government caused part of the Meiguan Historical Trail to deviate from the market. The surface restoration and utilization made it difficult for some tourists to experience the local culture of LCH, and they questioned the project. The government-led practice of cultural production stems from the judgment of the overall cultural value of LCH, which is similar to the cultural route [17] and reflects the political appeal and cultural symbolism of "identity" at the local level. In addition, in the context of the spatial production of the "absolute power of discourse" of LCH, local subjects give feedback on actions that are "consistent" and that "agreed" and "conformed" with the government in terms of the relative lack of funds, discourse, and other resources. For tourists, what they care about is not cultural pride but the pleasure and depth of cultural experience. They affirm the efforts of the project but question the experience. Therefore, the spatial production of LCH produces "material manifestations of the operation of global capitalism found in specific locations" [65] and allows differences between different groups. At the same time, this paper expands the time dimension of space production and believes that the starting node of space production is not the moment when material changes occur. The concepts and plans related to space production will affect the direction and process of space reconstruction.

#### *6.2. Managerial Implication*

The enlightenment and significance of this article on practice also deserves elaboration. With the renewal of the heritage protection concept from a single site to the entire environment, people pay more and more attention to the integrity of LCH [6,27]. Therefore, balancing the relationship between comprehensive development and partial reuse has become an urgent problem, especially for large LCH [66]. The case of the Meiguan Historical Trail shows that LCH tourism is a feasible solution for the integration of culture and tourism. By deepening the understanding of this special heritage type, this study provides theoretical guidance for the existing large-scale heritage management and further policy adjustment. In addition, most of the early studies focused on LCH itself, but a few studies revealed the impact of the overall tourism utilization of LCH on residents and tourists that classify as linear. Supported by multidisciplinary theories and various methods, this study focuses on and attempts to analyze the response of the general public. As far as the global linear cultural heritage is concerned, the discipline and compliance state of "consistency" and "identification" presented by residents in the Meiguan Historical Trail case is universal. In fact, residents along the Meiguan Historical Trail show an optimistic attitude of "supporting tourism development", but they seem not to care about cultural pride, which shows the obvious difference between the local government and residents. Therefore, in the practice of global linear cultural heritage restoration and utilization, we should attach importance to the cultural identity of residents and guide residents that classify as linear to actively participate in the protection of cultural heritage and stimulate the subjectivity of residents. In the marketing and publicity of linear cultural heritage, we should pay attention to the cultural experience of tourists; strengthen the atmosphere of ancient post roads by relying on festival activities, such as Plum Blossom Festival and Surname Festival; and further promote cultural tourism consumption.
