I think it is rather difficult to present religion in tourism as it is a sensitive issue. At the summit of Mt Qing Cheng (青城第一峰), there were several verses and chapters on The Way extracted from 《道德经》 in gold writing displayed on the walls of the temple to educate visitors on The Way. However to Taoists, the real Tao cannot be understood, cannot be explained using language; it is ineffable and transcendent and can only be known through mystical insight which cannot be translated into words. ("Those who know don't say, those who say don't know.") Therefore, what might constitute as Tao might not be so to real Taoists. The real meaning of Tao might end up being distorted through tourism. Furthermore, religious sites only appeal and hold meaning to certain groups of people associated with that religion only. Therefore, not everybody will be able to understand and appreciate this place.

Qing Cheng summit (1260m above sea level)


The first and most well-known verse of 道德经: 道可道非常道，名可名非常名
"The Way that can be spoken is not the true Way."
"The Name that can be named is not the constant Name."

道 literally means "path" or "way", and one view states that the paradoxical opening is intended to prepare the reader for teachings about the unteachable Tao. It is believed to be transcendent, indistinct and without form. Hence, it cannot be named or categorized. Even the word Tao can be considered a dangerous temptation to make Tao a limiting "name."

Tourism can also be seen as a form of cultural exploitation due to globalization and the growing influence of the capitalist system. Davydd J. Greenwood mentioned that ‘culture is being packaged, priced, and sold like fast food.’ (Greenwood, 1977) Culture is now being packaged into a commodity that can be bought by anyone who has the money to do so. I spotted a stall selling 青城山茶 and was rather skeptical about it as I believe it is just normal tea leaves borrowing the name of the mountain and selling it as a specialty of the place. There were many small souvenir shops selling irrelevant things such as Mao’s Little Red Book which have no association to Mt Qing Cheng at all. The only relevant souvenirs were T-shirts with the words "道" and "青城山" on it. I felt that was the most appropriate souvenir as it represented Mt Qing Cheng as a place of Taoist origin so I bought it. This simple act attributes to the argument of John Urry that ‘tourism involves the collection of signs’ (Urry, 1995: 133) and this can be seen as ‘a form of culture collecting’. (Clifford, 1988: 231) However, I realized the colour of the Yin-Yang figure was wrong only after wearing it a few days later!

I wore this shirt to class for my presentation. The Yin-Yang figure is supposed to be black & white, not red. It looks like some evil cult.