Site Emperor Qing Begging Immortality (Qinhuangdao City) from the Perspective of Representing Chinese Cultural Identity

The relevance of renewing national identity images and integrating them within the patchwork of globalization is closely related with the heightened interest in intercultural communication in times of so-called social turbulence. This study aims to describe a model of representation of Chinese cultural identity using the example of the park named Site Emperor Qing Begging Immortality in Qinhuangdao. To achieve this several tasks were undertaken: firstly, to analyze the main tendencies of the construction of the ideology of state development of the PRC in the context of globalization; secondly, to describe the objective and cultural-semiotic structure of the Park in light of the Sinicization trend, i.e. the focus on the awareness and manifestation of Chinese specificity; thirdly, to establish the semantic components that link the objects of the park into a coherent whole and to restore the narrative that links modern ideology with historical and memorial reconstructions. The material for the study are both the very objects within the park on the one hand and literature on the formation of modern Chinese identity on the other. Using a communicative approach, memorial studies, and understanding architecture as a text and images as a semantic medium, the authors analyze the main interpretations of the Sinicization trend and the park as an example of modern landscape architecture. This includes its key components, such as the layout, sculptures, reliefs referring to the historical evidence and cultural phenomena, as well as determine their role in today’s Chinese society. As a result, it is substantiated that Chinese cultural identity appeals to historical memory in conjunction with spatial structures and images. The park is thematically dedicated to the Era of the Warring States (Zhanguo), the creation of the first Chinese Empire, as well as the search for immortality. It reproduces significant components of cultural identity such as the value of a strong unified state, including being a maritime power, the importance of education, traditional teachings (Confucianism, Taoism, Yin-yang), language, poetry, technology of administrative management, military art and medicine, and a striving for longevity. The formation of these values in the designated historical period is emphasized. The transformation of the idea of physical immortality into a modern symbol of determination, perseverance and exploration of the unknown is noteworthy.