How Does High-Speed Rail Influence Intangible Cultural Heritage? A Mediation Effect Approach Using Panel Data from China

Author : Yixuan Du, Qiyun Li

Abstract :The embedding degree of China’s intangible cultural heritage (ICH) and high-speed rail industry in the value chain is a significant case for promoting the dual circulation development strategy. This paper, based on the empirical data of 31 provincial administrative regions in China over the past decade, adopts an empirical research approach to explore the influence of the embedding of ICH and the high-speed rail industry in the global value chain on the upgrading of domestic industrial structure and further examines the mediator effect of the total number of tourist receptions. The study reveals that the embedding of the high-speed rail industry in the global value chain prominently contributes to the development of ICH and the high-speed rail industry in various provinces of China, and the higher the degree of participation, the more remarkable the promoting effect on the upgrading of the industrial structure. The mediating effect of the expansion of the tourism market exists, which further strengthens the role of the expansion of the high-speed rail network in the protection and inheritance of ICH through the spillover effect of capital and technology. Additionally, the impact of the embedding of high-speed rail on the upgrading of ICH and the high-speed rail industry in China’s provincial regions demonstrates obvious regional heterogeneity, generally presenting the characteristics of “the east leading and the central and west following in a gradient.

Keywords :Intangible Cultural Heritage, High-Speed Rail, Global Value Chain, Industrial Upgrading

Conference Name :International Conference on Cultural Resources Management, Art Conservation and Restoration (ICCRMACR-25)

Conference Place Wellington, New Zealand

Conference Date 18th Apr 2025