Abstract
Taking Beijing courtyard hotels for the study, this research discusses the phenomenon of commodification and cultural representation in tourism uses of historic buildings in China and aims to answer how Beijing courtyard houses show distinguishing characteristics of the state, market, and society after the Reform and Opening Up Eras. This research adopts interviews with Beijing tourism departments and eight Beijing courtyard hotels along with participant observations by working in exchange for free accommodation. Then, we review the historical context and development of Beijing courtyard houses by collecting and analyzing of the data. The results of this study are as follows: (1) Societal representations of Beijing courtyard houses around value discourses. Social actors focus on different values as regards historic buildings under the operation of cultural hegemony. (2) The practices of national representations on the Beijing courtyard houses pushed them to a stage of tourism in order to meet the national imagination about historic buildings. (3) Due to urban reconstruction of Beijing, Beijing courtyard hotels’ locations are scattered around the inner city and business characteristics are small capital. Hotels’ managers use interior decorations, sceneries around the houses, regulations, and services to break through the restrictions of representation and build an old style Beijing atmosphere via the following characteristics: authenticity, belonging-ness, and in space and time.