On the International Dissemination Strategy of Shaoxing Ancient City Image under the Background of World Heritage Application

In 2023, Shaoxing government officially proposed the goal of “applying for heritage status of the ancient city” and started the application of the ancient city. In order to cooperate with the application, it is very important to enhance the international communication influence of Shaoxing Ancient City. For this purpose, this study uses two corpus analysis tools, AntConc and KH Coder, to examine the topics and lexical collocation of news texts about Shaoxing that were gathered from Global Times, Xinhua News, and China Daily. According to the research, Shaoxing Ancient City has a long history, rich cultural sites, deep cultural deposits, and distinctive regional traits, all of which make up its special advantages and resources. However, in the international communication, the image of Shaoxing mainly revolves around culture and industry, and most of the content focuses on the Shaoxing rice wine industry, with relatively little or no presentation of other aspects. Therefore, under the guidance of the strategic communication theory, this study puts forward specific suggestions on the international communication of Shaoxing Ancient City. Three communication strategies of cultural adaptation, Shaoxing brand building and the use of visa-free transit policy are put forward in order to improve the international visibility of Shaoxing and promote the successful application of Shaoxing Ancient City as a world heritage site.