在繁华的姑苏城中，清代宫廷风俗画家徐扬绘制了一幅名为《姑苏繁华图》的作品，这幅画描绘了乾隆年间（1736-1759）苏州城的繁盛景象。常言道：“读万卷书不如行万里路”，扩展视野、体验异地历史文化，是物质生活富足的香港人的向往，每逢有长假期，赤立角及罗湖等离境口岸总是拥挤得水泄不通。
自七八十年代经济起飞，旅游业在香港蓬勃发展，世界各地的旅行团、自助旅游、学生游学团等推销广告五花八门，有时候令人看得眼花缭乱。很多人都以为旅游是属于当代的产业，然而意想不到的是旅游活动早在明清时期已相当兴盛。
文化讲座“明清时期旅游活动的兴盛与旅游文化的建构”是巫仁恕博士最近写了十一万字著作浓缩本，他选了几个比较有趣的面向来跟莘莘学子分享研究心得。他说：“在现代旅游业诞生之前， tourism activity industry in China has a long history, and the tourism activities in Ming and Qing dynasties already had modern features similar to those of the contemporary tourism industry. The common people of that time were fond of traveling, and they used the term '游观' to describe their travels. The important promoters of the travel boom in Ming and Qing times were scholars, who considered travel as an indispensable part of their cultural pursuits.”
The study on Ming-Qing urban history and social-cultural history by Pat Rignold shows that there was a significant development in tourist infrastructure during this period. Tourist guides, tour itineraries, even package tours all existed during this time period.
Pat Rignold's research also reveals that temples, restaurants, teahouses and lakeside pavilions provided services for tourists. The combination of tourism with dining culture led to the demand for food service boats on pleasure ships. There were also package tours organized by local communities for pilgrimages to famous temples or scenic spots.
Moreover, Westerners praised Chinese tourist facilities at first but later criticized them as outdated when they visited China again after several decades.
In conclusion,"the booming tourism industry before its modern era is evident from historical records."
标签： 朱允炆真的无能吗 、 中国历史的所有朝代 、 元朝史记 、 中国历史上最伟大的朝代 、 南宋北宋怎么分的
