Nostalgia, Modernity and a Mediated Sense of Place in Wanghong Hotspots in China: A Multimodal Semiotic Analysis of Guofeng Markets in Hangzhou

Abstract

In the era of digitization, social media has profoundly changed and enriched the way places are perceived and experienced and has introduced a more varied and novel concept of place: a mediated sense of place to understand the formation of human-place relationships. In the context of China, social media has given rise to many wanghong hotspots, greatly reshaping public perceptions of places. Adopting a multimodal semiotic analysis, this study investigates how social media constructs a sense of place for a new type of wanghong hotspot: the guofeng markets in China. By examining the digital representations of 6 guofeng markets in Hangzhou, this research reveals that multimodal semiotic systems produce and communicate a distinct sense of place that harmoniously intertwines with nostalgia and modernity. These semiotic mechanisms portray markets as internet-famous, “must-see” destinations characterized by dual identities: these places are simultaneously perceived as traditional and trendy. The combination of China’s economic policies and the technological affordances of social media together transform unknown marketplaces into identifiable, valuable hotspots.