Constructing a New Rural Tourism Model Centered on Public Cultural Space: A Case Study of Moganshan, China

Rural culture is the essence of rural tourism[1]. As a critical material carrier for the inheritance and preservation of rural culture, public cultural spaces have emerged in recent years as a new driving force for the development of rural cultural tourism. Against the backdrop of China’s rural cultural tourism development, this study explores the construction of rural public cultural spaces centered on traditional culture, aiming to investigate new mechanisms for their development in the new era. To this end, the study takes Moganshan, China as a case study and employs a literature review, ArcGIS spatial analysis, and questionnaire surveys. By integrating historical literature, spatial distribution data of cultural heritage, and analyses of various groups’ perspectives on constructing rural public cultural spaces, it systematically examines three critical issues in current practices: an insufficient exploration of indigenous traditional culture[2], unreasonable planning and utilization[3], and an imperfect mechanism for public participation[4]. The findings indicate that rural areas in China possess abundant and distinctive conventional cultures, which are vividly reflected in cultural heritage distributed across different regions. Moreover, in the new era, diverse groups have shown great attention to rural culture—not only endorsing the construction of public cultural spaces centered on traditional rural history and culture but also asserting that innovative public cultural spaces can promote the development of rural cultural tourism. Based on these outcomes, the study proposes three new models for constructing rural public cultural spaces: recreational cultural space, cultural heritage space, and cultural creative space, thereby offering fresh perspectives for advancing rural cultural tourism.