With a background in anthropology and a focus on critical heritage studies, my research centers on the cultural politics of the past within diverse heritage and memory spaces. I am interested in exploring the multifaceted roles that heritage plays in processes of social transformation and knowledge transmission. My research encompasses various aspects of the heritage and memory work including the impact of heritage tourism, the politics of remembering and forgetting, and the interplay between heritage and reconciliation.

I am the author and editor of eight books, including recent work on Heritage Tourism (Cambridge, 2021), Heritage Politics in China (Routledge, 2020, co-authored with Christina Maags), and a special issue on Heritage Interpretation, Conflict and Reconciliation in East Asia (2021, co-edited with William Logan). My articles have appeared in leading journals in the fields, including International Journal of Heritage Studies, Memory Studies, Annals of Tourism Research, Tourism Geographies, American Anthropologist, and International Journal of Cultural Policy.

Teaching Interests:

I organize annual workshops focused on the incorporation of Indigenous Traditional Knowledge in sustainable development. Additionally, I provide annual cultural orientations for new international students and Higher Degree Research (HDR) candidates, with a particular emphasis on fostering cultural awareness of Indigenous knowledge.

I completed my PhD in Anthropology at Heidelberg University, Germany, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at the Australian Centre on China in the World, ANU. Before embarking on my academic career, I have worked at the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) in Madrid and the United Nations Office at Geneva (UNOG).

My work has attracted competitive funding from the Australian Research Council (ARC), UNESCO, the German Research Foundation (DFG), the European Union Leonardo Program, and the Australian Academy of the Humanities. 

I was elected as the vice-president (Communication) of the International Association of Critical Heritage Studies (2014-2020) and Deputy-chair of Anthropology Tourism Committee of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (2013-2021). Now I serve as the Editorial Board member of Cultural Geographies, Journal of Heritage Tourism, and Journal of Anthropological Research, and an expert member of ICH Committee of International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS).

Since 2022, I serve as a member of ANU University Academic Board and University Research Committee (representing the Academic Board). 

Heritage and Tourism

This project examines the key political and ethical issues that emerge through heritage tourism as one of the fastest-growing forms in the global tourism industry.

Yujie Zhu. 2021. Heritage Tourism: From Problems to Possibilites. Cambridge University Press

Yujie Zhu, 2018. Heritage and Romantic Consumption in China. Leiden: Amsterdam University Press

Heritage and Memory Politics

What kinds of narratives of the past are selected and interpreted for public display? How and why does the state turn historic events into ‘sites of memory’ for commemoration? 

Yujie Zhu and Christina Maags. 2020. Heritage Politics in China: The Power of the Past. London: Routledge

Mace Jessica and Yujie Zhu, Eds. 2021. Notions of Heritage. Presses de l'Université du Québec

Tuuli Lahdesmaki, Suzie Thomas and Yujie Zhu. Eds. 2019. Politics of Scale: New Directions in Critical Heritage Studies. Oxford:Berghahn Books

Heritage and Religion 

This project analyses the socio-cultural and political consequences of heritage making of religious sites. Does heritage serve as a new tool for the state to control and regulate religious spaces? Or does heritage offer a fertile ground for religious revival? Does the heritage industry engender secularization and a loss of religious efficacy? Or do such commercial practices lead to innovation in religious-spiritual life?

Michael Rowlands, Shuli Wang and Yujie Zhu. Eds 2020. Heritage and Religion in East Asia. London: Routledge

I am currently supervising PhD students working on the following topics:

·      Madeleine Tan (2021-) Heritage Tourism in Greek (Primary Supervisor)

·      Karma Kong (2020-) The Politic of Memory in Post-industrial Japan (Primary Supervisor)

·      Hao Zheng (2018-) Cultural Urban landscape in Chinese Towns (Panel Chair)

·      Alex McCosker (2019-) A history of pilgrimage to Kokoda and Papua New Guinea. (Associate Supervisor)

·      Yu-ting Lin (2018-) Mining development and social impact on Taiwan indigenous peoples (Associate Supervisor)

Completions

·      Junmin Liu (2020-2023) Heritage and homemaking of Yi migrant workers in Shenzhen, China  (Primary Supervisor)

·      Wenzhuo Zhang (2018-2023) Sustainable Management of Chinese Historic Urban Centres with Colonial Backgrounds (Panel Chair)

·      Jieyi Xie (2015-2021) The Silk Roads or Economic Belt: An Analysis of the Interaction Between China’s World Heritage and its Economic and Political Ambitions (Associate Supervisor)

·      Shengjin Xie (2015-2020) Pursuing good life in this world: the aspiration of Daoist clerics in Longhu Shan, China (Associate Supervisor)

·      Yun Zhou (2015-2019) Constructing a Divine Domesticity: Woman’s Messenger (1912-1951) and Her Republican Dreamers (Associate Supervisor)