'Frontier Climbing' in the Wild, Wild East

Bott, Esther

Abstract

This chapter explores certain tensions in the often contradictory and always subjective notions of 'adventures' and 'frontiers' in overlapping dimensions through the context of rock-climbing tourism in Li Ming in remote southern China. It also explores on a range of data sources, including climbing articles, and other social media discussions, participants' observations and autoethnography, the nexus of activities, environment and local people in the production of the 'frontier climbing' adventure. Tourism commodifies 'place', meaning that locations and their inhabitants become evaluated, represented and altered for their exchange value. Tourism constitutes consumption, where places hold specific sign and meaning value to individual consumers. The 'adventure' is a slippery concept that incorporates a vastly differentiated range of subjectively held notions. Adventures are personal and fluid, but also managed and marketized, especially in terms of adventure tourism. Nestled in remote mountainous terrain in China's Yunnan Province, Li Ming is a discovered rock-climbing area in the very early stages of climbing and tourism development.

Citation

Bott, E. (2018). 'Frontier Climbing' in the Wild, Wild East. In H. Saul, & E. Waterton (Eds.), Affective Geographies of Transformation, Exploration and Adventure: Rethinking Frontiers. Taylor and Francis

• Publication Date: 2018
• Deposit Date: Dec 12, 2018
• Publisher: Taylor and Francis
• Book Title: Affective Geographies of Transformation, Exploration and Adventure: Rethinking Frontiers
• Chapter Number: 11
• ISBN: 978-1-138-70112-0
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/1219919
• Publisher URL: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315204246/chapters/10.4324/9781315204246-12
• Contract Date: Nov 1, 2018