Ancient routes, new gateways: a systematic literature review of China's cultural route heritage

Purpose The study aims to understand how cultural route heritage is conceptualized and managed in China by systematically reviewing the research literature on Chinese cultural route heritage (CRH). The study intends to inspire further discussion on the theoretical and practical development of cultural routes since the development is still at a liminal stage in China. Design/methodology/approach A total of 253 research articles related to Chinese cultural rote heritage from major Chinese and English research databases China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus have been comprehensively identified and reviewed for the purpose of the study. Findings Four major themes of research on Chinese CRH have been identified: conceptual evaluation, list of the routes and characteristics of the routes, conservation and utilization. The results revealed that China has very rich resources in CRH, many of which were formed a long time ago, which exist across vast geographic regions and have assumed multiple functions and undergone dynamic reciprocal exchanges among diverse cultures and ethnicities. Practical implications The paper summarizes some major obstacles faced by CRH in China and proposes a strategic model to address the need for a more sustainable development of CRH in the Chinese context. Originality/value The paper offers a comprehensive overview of CRH in China and discusses practical issues in management and development of heritage great in size, number and complexity.