A research on tourism environmental carrying capacity of ancient villages: a case study of world cultural heritage-Xidi Village
古村落旅游地旅游环境容量初探--以世界文化遗产西递古村落为例

As traditional cultural tourism place, ancient villages have been paid more close attention in the process of rapid tourism development. Xidi Village is a typical and famous case in south Anhui province. After it was listed as the World Cultural Heritage, people came to visit in an endless stream. However, because of sharp growth of visitors, uneven distribution of tourist flows and limitation of capacity, the problems such as scenic spots overloading and tourism pollution, become increasingly severe and the pressure of protecting Xidi Village increases. Therefore, it is especially necessary and urgent to reinforce the research on tourism environmental carrying capacity. Taking the world cultural heritage-Xidi Village as an example, on the basis of a considerable on-the-spot investigations, this paper tries to confirm the tourism environmental carrying capacity of ancient villages and raises basic countermeasures in order to promote the sustainable development. The specific measures are: (1)to prolong open period and shorten retention period; (2)to decrease the disparities between the slack period and peak period in order to "cut the peak to fill up the valley"; (3)to reopen the former sights and develop the peripheral sights; (4)to accelerate the development of new areas; (5)to enhance management and improve services; and (6)to enhance the publicity driving force, standardize and guide the visitors' behaviors.