THE AESTHETIC GAZE OF HERITAGE SITES: A FRAMEWORK OF AESTHETIC EXPERIENCE FORMATION

Even though the role of aesthetics in human life is presumed, its critical role in tourism experience formation is not well-understood. Aesthetic experiences are in the genes of culture and heritage sites; however, aesthetic experience formation in heritage tourism sites is void in tourism theory. To fill this void in the current tourism theory, this study explores how tourists define aesthetics and how aesthetic tourism experiences are formed in the context of heritage tourism, in a particular tourism heritage setting-the Chinese classical gardens. The findings revealed the manifestation and connotation of the Yin-Yang symbolism in Chinese tourists' ways of appreciating both the natural and cultural landscapes within a World Heritage Site. The study highlights the notion of "aesthetic gaze" as a term that implies the vital influences of individuals' cultural, philosophical, and aesthetic traditions on their ways of generating tourism aesthetic experiences.