English Version
After running the first mixed-group intervention (locals + non-locals), I decided to hold another round of the card game exclusively with Chengdu locals. The goal was simple: if “Chengdu identity” is defined only by locals themselves, would the hierarchy of cultural symbols look different?
Quick Recap of the Rules
- Theme: Select the cultural elements that best represent Chengdu.
- Card set: Food, landmarks, intangible heritage, people, subcultures, natural landscapes.
- Mechanism: Players take turns playing a card and explaining why it represents Chengdu. If they fail to convince others, they draw another card. At the end, the group negotiates a “Top 5” list.
Result 1: Chengdu’s Top 5 Symbols
The final five chosen by locals were:
- Chengdu’s Signature Home-style Cuisine – As one of the birthplaces of Sichuan cuisine, Chengdu is renowned for its málà (numbing and spicy) flavors. The dishes are layered and complex, ranging from bold, fiery heat to delicate and refined tastes.
- Chengdu “Pa Er Duo” – Literally meaning “soft ears,” it refers to someone who is easily persuaded or listens attentively. In Chengdu’s cultural context, it usually describes men in family relationships who respect and follow their partner’s voice.
- Teahouses – the heart of slow living, leisure, and social gathering.
The Chengdu cultural elements that were found to be the least understood, least familiar, or least recognized were: Hanfu(Chinese ancient clothes), the streetwear brand 1807, and night markets.
This result shows that locals lean toward symbols that are tangible, everyday, and easily legible to outsiders.
Result 2: Challenged or “Distant” Symbols
- Intangible heritage (e.g., bamboo weaving): acknowledged, but felt too distant from daily life to represent Chengdu.
- Subcultures (e.g., specific local musicians): recognized by some, but seen as too niche to carry the weight of city identity.
Result 3: Cultural Dislocation, Revisited
When I asked participants to reimagine Chengdu through the eyes of a foreign visitor, some playful reinterpretations appeared:
- Night market – Hard to imagine.
- Hanfu（Chinese ancient clothes） – The patterns on Hanfu might resemble those seen in Kung Fu Panda.
- Streetwear brand 1807 – Since it is a Chengdu-based streetwear label, it’s expected to carry Chengdu elements, such as costume styles inspired by Sichuan opera attire, facial masks, or figures from shadow puppetry.
This revealed something fascinating: even locals, once they step outside their daily experience, instinctively “translate” Chengdu’s culture into a more global, consumable form.
Key Takeaways
- Food stays central – Hotpot and teahouse continue to dominate, just as in the mixed group.
- Lifestyle rises in importance – Unlike the mixed group, locals put more weight on teahouses and Kuanzhai Alley, highlighting lifestyle and historic settings as crucial to their identity.
- Heritage remains marginalized – Even among locals, intangible heritage failed to reach the top, showing its weak connection to everyday life.
- Global awareness – In the cultural dislocation round, locals willingly symbolized Chengdu in a way that catered to international expectations.
Reflection
This local-only session made it clear: Chengdu’s cultural identity, for its own people, is built on everyday experiences that can be felt, tasted, and lived. Hotpot, teahouses, malatang, pandas, and Kuanzhai Alley dominate the narrative.
But it also raised a challenge for my research: if I want to connect Chengdu’s intangible heritage with its future fashion identity, I need to find entry points tied closely to daily life. In other words, heritage can’t just sit in museums—it has to interact with the hotpot table, the teahouse corner, or the late-night street stall to become part of Chengdu’s living cultural story.
Chinese Version
在完成第一轮混合群体（成都人 + 外地人）的卡牌干预后，我又单独进行了一场 成都本地人专属局。目的在于检验：当“成都身份”只由本地人来定义时，会不会出现不同的符号排序？
游戏流程与规则回顾
- 主题：从卡牌中选出最能代表成都的文化元素。
- 牌面范围：涵盖饮食、地标、非遗、人物、亚文化、自然景观。
- 机制：玩家轮流出牌并阐述理由；如无法说服他人则摸牌。最后由小组共识选出五张“最能代表成都”的牌。
结果一：成都 Top 5 元素
最终被选出的 3 张牌是：
- 成都特色家常菜 – 成都作为川菜的发源地之一，以麻辣鲜香著称，口味层次丰富，既能大火热辣，也能小巧精致。
- 成都耙耳朵 – 字面意思是“软耳朵”，引申为耳根子软、听话、容易被说服的人。在成都语境里，它通常专指在家庭关系中对尊重伴侣的男性。
- 茶馆 – 慢节奏生活的缩影，社交与休闲的核心场所。
而最不理解/陌生/最不认同的成都本土文化是汉服，潮牌1807，夜市。
这一结果凸显了成都人的选择标准是日常可接触 + 具象可感知 + 容易被外界理解。
结果二：挑战与陌生元素
- 非遗元素（如竹编）虽然知道，但与日常生活缺乏直接关联，代表性不足。
- 亚文化（如特定本地音乐人）本地人认可度有限，认为其影响范围小，不足以承担“城市符号”的重量。
结果三：文化错位再设计
当我要求他们以“外国游客”的角度重新想象成都元素时，出现了有趣的二次创意：
- 夜市 无法想象。
- 汉服 汉服上的纹样可能像功夫熊猫里的样子。
- 潮牌1807 既然是成都的潮牌那一定有成都元素，例如刚刚游戏卡牌里的川剧服装、脸谱或皮影戏中人物的服装样式。
这说明，即便是本地人，当他们跳脱日常经验后，也会主动去“迎合外部眼光”，把城市符号转化为更国际化、可消费的版本。
分析与启示
- 饮食依旧是核心 – 火锅、茶馆强势入榜，延续了第一组的趋势。
- 生活场景上升 – 与混合组相比，本地人额外强调了 茶馆 与 宽窄巷子，说明“生活方式”和“历史地标”对他们的文化认同更重要。
- 非遗边缘化 – 即使在成都人群体中，非遗元素依旧无法进入代表性前列，因其缺乏日常体验感。
- 国际化自觉 – 在文化错位环节，本地人会自动符号化成都，为外部视角“翻译”出更容易被理解的版本。
Reflection
这一局的结果让我更清楚地看到成都本地人的文化认同是以“可感知的日常体验”为核心建构的。他们强调火锅、茶馆、麻辣烫，选择熊猫和宽窄巷子，但对非遗或亚文化的代表性认同有限。
这意味着如果我的研究要探索 成都非遗与时尚身份的连接，就必须找到与日常生活紧密相关的切入口。换句话说，只有当非遗与火锅、茶馆、夜宵摊这些“日常符号”产生互动时，它才可能真正进入成都人的文化叙事。
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