The Erosion of Ethnic Minority Cultures and Possible Solutions by Data Science

The Erosion of Ethnic Minority Cultures and Possible Solutions by Data Science

Leo Jiang

 

In the thousand-year history of the Miao ethnic group, the grandmothers and mothers of the Miao people must spend several years or even more than a decade, meticulously embroidering their future wedding dresses, with a worshiping mentality. These wedding dress patterns are diverse, intricate in craftsmanship, and vibrant in color.

The renowned Chinese writer Lu Xun once said: "Only when a nation's culture is preserved can it be part of the world. (Only that which belongs to the nation belongs to the world.)”  Culture is the soul of a nation, the spiritual high ground of a people.

However, across the world, the cultures of ethnic minorities generally face the issue of decline. This is not limited to China but is a common challenge in the whole world including Asia, Americas, Africa, and Europe.

Today, I will take the example of China's ethnic minority, the Miao people (called Hmong in some international environments), to explore the reasons for the cultural decline and possible solutions.

China has a total of 56 ethnic groups, with the Han ethnic group accounting for 91.11% of the total population. Additionally, there are 55 ethnic minority groups, comprising the rest 8.89%. These unique cultures in ethnic minority regions have shaped a diverse humanistic spectacle, injecting a different color into the diversity of Chinese civilization.

I have visited several Chinese provinces with ethnic minority cultures, including Guizhou, Yunnan, Qinghai, Gansu, and Hainan provinces, which have left a profound impression on me. Many ethnic minority regions have their own cultural intellectual property, such as "Radiant Yunnan," "Colorful Guizhou," "Brilliant Qinghai," "Charming Western Hunan," and so on.

The unique cultures of various ethnic minorities include aspects such as clothing, food, architecture, music, dance, and more. For example, the Miao people are known for their exquisite clothing and silver accessories, which are their defining characteristics. When it comes to Miao attire, the first impression is often one of vibrant colors and exquisite beauty. These intricate embroideries have been passed down for centuries, documenting their way of life, religious beliefs, migrations, wars, living environments, and more. Therefore, Miao embroidery is referred to as the "living fossil of Miao culture," representing the "history worn on the body" for the Miao people.

Human clothing, besides serving practical functions like warmth and body concealing, also possesses a unique power to reflect a nation's customs, culture, history, and aesthetics.

Unfortunately, with the advent of modernization, colorful urban culture and lifestyles displayed through media platforms like radio, television, and the internet have influenced the simple and traditional Miao people. The influx of trendy modern cultures constantly impacts the younger generation, who has become enthusiasts of modern fashion.

Young girls no longer devote years to meticulously crafting traditional attire like their mothers and grandmothers did with devout hearts. They, who were supposed to be the inheritors, no longer possess the traditional clothing-making skills. The transmission of traditional attire faces increasingly severe challenges.

Culture is the soul of a nation and, at the same time, an important industry. The unique cultures of ethnic minorities are the development advantages of these regions.

So, how can we revitalize these ethnic minority cultures, promote their cultural and economic rejuvenation, and inspire young Miao individuals to see hope in development and be willing to carry on the traditions?

Cultural promotion works have been mainly government-led, with propaganda mostly on government websites, which have not been highly regarded by the public.  This has significantly compromised the promotional impact.

But big data technology can open up new space for the dissemination of minority cultures. By utilizing big data technology, it is possible to identify the target audience, establish cultural branding and positioning, and scientifically evaluate the effectiveness of promotions.

Specific strategies include:

  1. Using big data to identify the target audience. Understanding who they are, their consumption characteristics, their needs, and how to appeal to them. Continuously mining and analyzing big data can create “user portrait” of the target consumers, enabling the analysis of their cultural preferences based on their consumption behavior, reading habits, search keywords, and more.
  2. Based on the needs of the target users, more accurate positioning of the ethnic culture can be achieved.
  3. Subsequently, utilizing big data for precise communication to deliver brand information to the target audience.

I have personally visited the largest Miao ethnic settlement in the world, Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village. Using it as an example, I will analyze its target users to determine if the brand positioning of Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village is appropriate and meets the consumption needs of its target users. If not, why is that the case?

Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village is located in Xijiang Town, Leishan County, Qiandongnan Miao and Dong Autonomous Prefecture, Guizhou Province. Surrounded by mountains, it is home to over 6,000 people and is renowned for its rich Miao culture and history, earning the title of "Miao Capital" and being listed in the "National Intangible Cultural Heritage" records. It serves as an open-air museum showcasing the history of the Miao people. Additionally, it is a national 4A-Level Tourist Attraction that welcomed 4.64 million visitors in 2023.

Considering its significance as an intangible cultural heritage site, let's explore how users evaluate it.

  1. Web Data Crawling:
    1. The websites crawled: include several major tourism websites in China: Ctrip, Mafengwo, Tuniu, and Ctrip.
    2. The data timeframe is: from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2023.
    3. The data crawled: includes comprehensive reviews and negative reviews by tourists who visited Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village during this period.
    4. Baidu Data Crawling: By analyzing parameters such as age, location, and gender of users searching for Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village on Baidu, we aim to understand the target customers interested in this Miao Village, their characteristics, and attributes.
  1. User Portrait:
    1. User Age: Analysis of Baidu data reveals that the target users are predominantly from a younger demographic. Consumers interested in Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village are mainly aged between 20 and 40. Those aged 20-30 account for 50%, while those aged 31-40 account for around 20%.
    2. User Location: From a geographical perspective, consumers are primarily from the province itself; similarly, the majority of internet search users are from Guizhou Province too. This indicates that this Miao Village lacks recognition and influence outside the province, with consumers predominantly local to Guizhou.
    3. User Gender: data from searches shows that female consumers account for 60%, while male consumers account for 40%. Comparatively, female tourists exhibit higher demand and greater interest in visiting the Miao Village.
  1. Analyses of User Reviews:
    1. "Comprehensive reviews" by the tourists: Chart-1 was obtained by extracting high-frequency words from comprehensive reviews crawled:

In the "comprehensive reviews," the high-frequency words mainly include "Miao village, Miao ethnic group, features, night view, observation deck, worth" and other words, which reflect tourists' impressions of the Miao Village and also align with the advantages of the scenic area. Words like "worth, features" also demonstrate tourists' praise of it.

    1. "Negative reviews" by the tourists: terms such as "commercialization, experience, management, queuing, tickets" appear frequently in the "negative reviews."

Firstly, the term "commercialization" indicates that tourists are not very satisfied with the commercial atmosphere of the scenic area, leading to a lack of the original ecological taste of the Miao village. When I personally inspected Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village, I also noticed this issue. Many shops simply display some cheap Miao ethnic clothing and accessories for tourists to rent for taking photos. There are many such shops, with serious homogenization and a strong commercial flavor.

People visiting this Miao village want to experience the unique culture and customs of the Miao ethnic minority. If it becomes too commercialized, it will lose the authentic Miao charm.

Secondly, the criticism in terms of "management" is due to the lack of professionalism in the management, which falls far behind other well-managed scenic spots like Wuzhen. The frequent mention of words like "experience" and "queueing" in the negative reviews also indicates that the lack of professionalism in management has a negative impact on visitors' experiences.

Thirdly, the frequent mention of "tickets" in negative reviews reflects dissatisfaction with the high ticket price of 130 yuan.

Therefore, through the analysis of these high-frequency words in “comprehensive reviews” and “negative reviews”, it is evident that Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village still has many issues that need improvement. It should be a very appealing cultural brand. However, if it is overly commercialized in operation, coupled with inadequate management and high ticket price, the tourist experience will be significantly affected.

Conclusion and Recommendations:

  1. Utilizing big data analysis to identify the target audience:
  1. Target individuals aged between 20-40 who are interested in minority ethnic cultures. Female users show greater potential and are preferable for dissemination.
  2. Focus on promoting Miao culture outside of Guizhou province to increase awareness and understanding of Miao cultural tourism in other provinces across China.
  1. Positioning and development of Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village:
    1. Issue of excessive commercialization: The overly commercialized environment has significantly impacted tourists' experiences. Therefore, the scenic area should strive to maintain the original style of the Miao village and avoid excessive decoration.
    2. Enhancing visitor experiences: The scenic area should emphasize improving the service level of its staff. My personal experience here revealed that many staff of local restaurants and shops lack professional training in service attitude, service etiquette, and communication skills.
    3. Commercial development: I noticed that the souvenirs sold in the village appear to lack high quality and suffer from homogeneity. Many shops sell cheap imitations of Miao women's clothing and accessories. The scenic area should hire professionals to design unique local souvenirs that represent Miao culture and the village characteristics. The unified quality testing can be taken by the local government, to provide customers with authoritative identification of the souvenirs purchased in the village, especially silver adornments.

In conclusion, the application of big data technologies can thoroughly explore and analyze minority ethnic cultures, providing a scientific analysis of their strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges. Big data can be used to explore and analyze the target audience, plan brand promotion, design content types, and more. This data can serve as a scientific reference for positioning Xijiang Qianhu Miao Village (and/or other minority ethnic cultures).

 

 

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