Use Food as City Image--Take Luosifen as an Example of City Branding
Abstract
Self-branding has emerged as a prevalent strategy among cities, leveraging food as a critical image enhancer. Cities, particularly in China, promote their food culture to broaden recognition and evoke interest, as food often highly condenses and succinctly expresses the identity, culture, and social customs of a city. Food's ingredients, styles, and tastes are shaped by local natural factors, inadvertently conveying a city's environmental characteristics. It also mirrors residents' life philosophy and regional traits, which is evident in Northeast China's hearty cuisine adapted to cold climates. Globally, food is seen as a carrier of city and culture, as exemplified by France's high-quality cuisine representing national identity. Thus, utilizing food as a city representative is logical. This essay explores Guangxi Province's case, specifically the Luosifen, as an urban food ambassador, analyzing its implementation and feasibility in projecting the city's image.
References
- Falkenheim, V. C. and Ping-chia Kuo. “Guangxi.” Accessed November 24, 2020. https://www.britannica.com/place/Guangxi.
- Yau, E. “The noodles that became a Chinese national dish during coronavirus lockdown–with a smell that takes getting used to.” Accessed November 24, 2020. https://www.scmp.com/lifestyle/food-drink/article/3092456/noodles-became-chinese-national-dish-during-coronavirus?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=share_widget&utm_campaign=3092456.
- Qin, Q., Geoffrey, W. and Xiao-Hang Liu. “Government Roles in Stimulating Tourism Development: A Case from Guangxi, China, Asia Pacific.” Journal of Tourism Research 16, no.5 (2011): 471-487. https://doi.org/10.1080/10941665.2011.597573.
- Hall, C. M. and Sharples, L. “The consumption of experiences or the experience of consumption? An introduction to the tourism of taste.” In Food tourism around the world, edited by Hall, C. M., Sharples, L., Mitchell, R., Macionis, N. and Cambourne, B, 1–25. Oxford, UK: Elsevier Butterworth-Heinemann, 2003.
- River Snails Rice Noodle Town. “Functional Division.” Accessed November 18, 2020. http://www.lsfxz.com/index.aspx.
- Parham, S. Food and Urbanism. London: Bloomsbury Publishing Plc, 2015. Accessed November 17, 2020. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1157023&site=ehost-live.
- Lim, C. J. Food City. New York: Routledge, 2014.
- Hjalager, A. and Greg, R. Tourism and Gastronomy. Routledge Advances in Tourism; 11. London; New York: Routledge, 2002. Accessed November 24, 2020. http://search.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.is.ed.ac.uk/login.aspx?direct=true&db=nlebk&AN=1157023&site=ehost-live.
- Everett, S. and Aitchison, C. "The Role of Food Tourism in Sustaining Regional Identity: A Case Study of Cornwall, South West England." Journal of Sustainable Tourism 16, no. 2 (2008): 150-67.
- Long, L. M. Gastronomy Tourism. Kentucky: The University Press of Kentucky, 2004.
- Nadeau, J, B. and Barlow, J. What makes the French so French: Sixty million Frenchmen can't be wrong. London: Robson Books, 2005.
- Bareham, J. Consumer behavior in the food industry. Oxford: Butterworth-Heinemann, 1995.
- Mould, O. Against creativity. Verso Books, 2018.
- UNESCO. “Creative cities network.” Accessed November 18, 2020. http://en.unesco.org/creative-cities.
- Pearson, D. & Thomas P. “Branding Food Culture: UNESCO Creative Cities of Gastronomy.” Journal of International Food & Agribusiness Marketing 28, no.2 (April 2016): 164-176. https://doi.org/10.1080/08974438.2015.1035472.