世俗的朝圣:西藏旅游体验研究

西藏正成为越来越重要的旅游目的地,然而对西藏旅游体验具体的微观研究却相对缺乏。文章通过对西藏旅游者的深度访谈,来探讨他们的旅游体验。游客往往将西藏想象成一种神圣之地,西藏的旅游体验对于游客而言也具有神圣的意义,主要体现在游客对自然、宗教和藏族人的体验上。西藏纯净的自然可以净化游客的心灵,让他们联想到远离喧嚣的生活。西藏的寺庙和朝拜的信徒营造出一种虔诚而神圣的氛围,让游客内心备受震动。看到藏民的执着和虔诚,游客心中会产生一种满足感。而藏民淳朴的为人处世的方式更让游客感到一种自己社会所缺失了的真实。西藏的神圣不在于游客对其宗教的信仰上,而在于其社会文化意义,西藏提供了游客日常生活所缺失的自然与人文,满足了游客的精神需求。西藏的旅游体验与其说是宗教朝圣,毋宁说是一种世俗的朝圣。

Secular Pilgrimage. Tourist Experience in Tibet

Since 1980s, Tibet has opened to tourists and tourism has played a significant role in the transformation of the Tibet society. Tibet is becoming one of the most important tourism destinations in China and is perceived as the last ＂ pure land＂ and therefore has attracted more and more tourists. However, the studies of Tibet tourism are either on macro policies or tourism resources. Few attentions are paid to tourist experience which is a key issue of tourism research. This article sheds light upon the tourist experience in Tibet through in-depth interviews to thirty tourists. All interviewees are from China, most of them enter into Tibet by self-driving along the Sichuan-Tibet highway and Yunnan-Tibet highway, all the way from east-central regions to Lhasa. Although Tibet is always imaged as a sacred place, tourist experience is different from that of pilgrim. In pilgrimage, religious belief is been pursued and religious needs are expected to be met. In tourism people seek knowledge or spiritual meanings which are embedded in everyday life and vary with the typology of tourism and tourists. The spiritual needs in tourism are not about religion. Therefore, tourism is asserted as a kind of secular pilgrimage. What matters in the experience is not the religious belief but some others. Firstly, Tibet＇ s pure nature is given a meaning that it can purify one＇ s soul because of its far away from the profane and noisy world. Tourists can get a peaceful mind in the process of appreciating the natural landscape. Furthermore, tourists can also obtain a lot of knowledge about Tibet＇ s religion from these temples where plenty of Buddhism artworks are exhibited. Most of Tibetan temples are still in used and monks＇ daily activities can also be observed. Artworks, monks and believers in temples create a sacred atmosphere which affect the tourists even though they do not believe in Tibetan Buddhism. The Tibetan worshipers performing Kowtow along the way to Lhash can be easily encountered by the tourists on the journey. Their devout behaviors shock the tourists because devotion is scarce in modern society and tourists think they cannot make it by themselves. Besides, simple, happy Tibetans and their philosophy of life make tourists reflect about their own lives. The sacred experiences obtained on the way to Lhasa result in that the tourists cannot accept commercialization in Lhasa which is not in coincidence with their imagination of Tibet. That tourists regard Tibet as sacred center is not because they believe in Tibet religion, but because of the social- cultural meaning of Tibet to them. Tibet can offer the nature and culture which meet their spiritual needs and are absent in tourists＇ everyday life.