Cultural differences between East and West?

I. Differences between Chinese and Western cultures and their causes

(I. Differences between Chinese and Western cultures

Chinese and Western cultures were born in China and Europe respectively, belonging to different nationalities, so there are both certain similarities and obvious differences between them. This difference is the particularity that distinguishes this culture from other cultures. The differences between Chinese and western cultural traditions are manifested in many aspects, but mainly reflected in the following three aspects:

1. The relationship between man and nature. There are obvious differences between China and the West in the understanding of the relationship between man and nature. In China's traditional culture, the emphasis on "Heaven", the spirit of harmony between man and nature, and the emphasis on human behavior to conform to the natural development trend have also led to a natural constraint on the expansion of individual personality. This stereotyped way of production and life makes people accustomed to the way of knowing their destiny and keeping their own place, and it is easy for man and nature to reach a harmonious state, which has been the case for thousands of years, thus forming the moderate and peaceful national character of China people. On the other hand, the cultural spirit of the western nation is based on the understanding of "the separation between man and nature", emphasizing the division and opposition between man and nature, emphasizing the struggle between man and nature, and thinking that man must rely on knowledge to conquer nature in an all-round way. This natural orientation has contributed to the strong sense of independence and challenge of the western nation, thus shaping people's extroverted behavior modes such as efficiency, courage to compete and fear of risks.

2, the relationship between people. In China's cultural system, which emphasizes ethics, people pay more attention to interpersonal relationships. In order to dilute and alleviate interpersonal conflicts, there are ethical sermons such as "golden mean", "benevolence" and "courtesy", which emphasize obedience and order and advocate coordination and tolerance. Contrary to traditional China, western culture is very advocating human personality, pursuing individual priority, with strong individualism and obvious personality spirit. Influenced by this cultural feature, westerners like to be original and unique in all aspects of social life, pursuing self-independence and self-development.

3. Lifestyle. China people believe that the true meaning of life lies in enjoying a simple and leisurely life, especially the joy of family life and the harmony of various social relations, and reveling in such an ideal of life, which makes China people show a gentle and introverted character towards secular life. Westerners also pursue pleasure, but their utilitarian consciousness is very strong. People strive to pursue material wealth, transform and conquer nature, thus stimulating the enthusiasm of westerners for work, acquisition and creation.

(II) Reasons for the cultural differences between China and the West

Fundamentally speaking, the cultural characteristics of a nation are first determined by the natural environment in which it lives.

1. Natural ecological environment. Natural ecological environment is an eternal and indispensable material premise for the existence and development of human society and nation. When a nation lives, works and lives in a certain area, it also creates a corresponding culture. The natural geographical conditions related to this nation and the corresponding culture are what people call ecological environment. Generally speaking, cultural differences initially come from differences in understanding the natural world, and natural geographical conditions determine the initial direction of cultural development in various ethnic groups and regions. The geographical characteristics of the relative isolation of the three plateaus and the sea made the ancient China culture basically isolated from the outside world, but it also provided unique conditions for the development of agricultural civilization, and on this basis, an economic form characterized by small-scale peasant economy was formed. At the same time, the continental environment of the great river and the self-sufficient natural economy caused by it make China people agree with the nature of things and conform to them, which firmly binds people to the land. However, the stability of the agricultural society and the long-term settlement of family and friends have made China people attach great importance to farewell since ancient times, which makes the Chinese nation ideologically and emotionally show that they like one thing over many, like the same but not different, like quietness but not movement, and like stability and not change. The flowing water source of western culture is ancient Greek culture, which originated in the Mediterranean, and its marine environment has cultivated the original adventurous and extroverted national character of western nations. In their view, compared with the ocean, the strength of human beings is very small and fragile, but human beings have conquered the sea by relying on their own brave, resolute and great fighting spirit, so human spirit is greater than the ocean, and all this has also shaped the open and brave character of western nations. Therefore, from the perspective of the whole ancient social and cultural phenomenon, the west started from the individual, explored outward, constantly pursued and expanded itself, and at the same time innovated itself. However, due to the closed and self-satisfied agricultural society, China shows a strong nostalgia for the countryside and yearning for a quiet life.

2. Humanistic and social environment. Humanistic social environment mainly refers to the sum total of social ideology composed of systems, policies and regulations. In the development of China's feudal society for thousands of years, there were wars and turmoil, but the ultra-stable agricultural production mode, social organization form and patriarchal ethics always maintained the tradition and survival of the Chinese nation. The centralized political system and the patriarchal clan system based on blood ties have made the common people have a social psychology of being fond of quietness and tired of moving, and attaching importance to the countryside and blood. The ethical concept centered on filial piety has restricted China people's behavior of going out to explore. Confucius once pointed out that "parents are there, they don't travel far, and they must travel well". However, due to the large mountainous area and limited plain area, the western people can only exchange their daily necessities such as food through maritime trade, which promotes the formation of the enterprising and adventurous national character of westerners. The democratic political system in ancient Greece made the concept of democracy and the awareness of the rule of law become the * * * knowledge reached by all members of society. They believed that everyone had equal ability, equal status and freedom of behavior, and more people reflected an independent personality. Under such a political background, the national spirit has been greatly mobilized, forming an open, positive and enterprising national spirit. It can be seen that the same nation has the same language, the same region, the same economic life and the same historical origin, and inherits the same cultural accumulation, so it has the same psychological quality on the basis of the same culture, which is the character and cultural expression of a nation.

Second, the impact of cultural differences between China and the West on the demand for tourism products

(1) the impact of tourism psychology

The psychological differences between China and the West in tourism demand caused by different cultures are mainly manifested in the obvious demand tendency of China people for oneness, while the strong exploration consciousness of western nations makes them take risks, conquer themselves and show themselves, thus satisfying their personal sense of accomplishment and embodying their personal competitiveness. China's traditional culture determines that China people lack the spirit of adventure, and their pursuit of complexity and diversity in tourism activities is extremely limited, and they even refuse adventurous tourism activities. Western tourists are active, enthusiastic and fearless, and they often like some exciting tourism projects to show off their personality. This difference stems from their respective cultural soil and national differences. The dynamic nature of western society makes their tourism demand psychology tend to be rapid and intense, while the static nature of China society makes their tourism demand psychology tend to be soothing and introverted.

) Tourism aesthetic concept

China people advocate quietness, which is the main form of everything, so observing quietness has become the aesthetic activity and scope of China. It is combined with people's psychological experience to achieve the purpose of pleasing temperament and body and mind through tourism aesthetics, reflecting the aesthetic sentiment of human freedom. However, westerners' extroverted personality makes them focus on the dynamics when they look at and feel beauty. Western tourism aesthetics are often expressed by the excitement and excitement beyond words. Therefore, some tourism activities that seek excitement and horror in western tourism have no aesthetic feeling for orientals, while westerners devote themselves to and enjoy formal beauty and realistic beauty because of their horror and blood.

(3) Tourism demand motivation

Generally speaking, westerners have stronger tourism motivation than China people. At this point, we can't rule out the reasons for the economic level gap between China and the West, but we should see that this difference has far-reaching cultural reasons. China people emphasize the adaptation to nature, the harmony between man and nature, and advocate ethical hierarchy, harmonious interpersonal relationship and social balance and stability, which all hinder China people's travel motivation. However, Western culture emphasizes dominating, transforming and conquering nature, focusing on individualism and pursuing pleasure, which shapes the obvious outward personality of the western nation, which makes westerners more willing to travel and explore and recognize the outside world than China people.

(4) Choice of tourist destinations

Because of their adventurous spirit and the influence of individual liberalism, western tourists tend to choose inaccessible tourist destinations, like to take the lead in coming to these areas to enjoy fresh experiences and discover joy, like to contact and be eager to know unfamiliar cultures and people. Generally speaking, any destination with great characteristics or outstanding personality will often become the object of choice for western tourists. However, people in China prefer some peaceful or quiet landscapes, and generally choose familiar or even well-known destinations with quite mature planning and construction, but they are not interested in some scenic spots with immature tourism development or located in remote areas. At the same time, China people have a strong sense of group, are easily dominated by others, and have a serious herd mentality. When choosing a destination, it is easy to listen to others' opinions and be influenced by others or social popularity, thus making some well-known tourist destinations saturated or even overloaded during the peak season, while some scenic spots are rarely visited.

Third, the impact on the development of tourism products

(1) Understand the individual differences between Chinese and Western tourists and provide personalized services

The design, development and marketing of tourism products should be targeted. Nowadays, international tourists have a variety of travel motives, which leads to "individuality, diversity, participation and self-help" in their psychological needs for tourism. They have a strong demand for diversity in their lives and like to take risks, hoping to realize themselves through tourism. Therefore, for the tourism industry, it is necessary to develop, manage and publicize tourism products according to the characteristics of Chinese and western tourists. First of all, we should constantly develop new products to attract those tourists who seek new excitement and like adventure; Secondly, we should use modern means and channels to enable them to quickly and conveniently understand the tourism products that meet their individual needs and obtain tourism information; At the same time, enterprises can find the consumption value pursued by all kinds of tourism consumers, find new tourism market space and develop new tourism consumption hotspots through online questionnaires and other forms.

(2) The design, development and marketing of tourism products should be targeted

Understand the individual differences between Chinese and Western tourists and provide personalized services. Tourism is faced with highly mobile consumers, who come from all over the world. Due to the influence of natural and social environment, various countries and nationalities have long formed unique styles in customs and lifestyles, which have played a great role in the development of people's personality and psychology, making their characters have a strong national and ethnic color. Therefore, tourism enterprises must understand the individual differences among tourists, conduct investigation and study from the national and ethnic characteristics, understand their customs, customs, religious beliefs and lifestyle characteristics, and adopt different reception methods and service measures to provide personalized services. Cultural differences are the most attractive resources to attract overseas tourists, and also the fundamental reason for the different performances of Chinese and western tourists in tourism consumption behavior. Therefore, maintaining this difference and highlighting the characteristics of our own culture is of great guiding significance for the development of tourism in China, especially for international tourism. According to the different needs of Chinese and western tourists, tourism enterprises should adjust their development strategies in time, develop marketable tourism products and formulate new management methods and strategies to ensure the healthy and rapid development of tourism.

(3) Ensure the national cultural characteristics and enhance the tourist attraction

Ensure the national cultural characteristics and enhance the tourist attraction. Contemporary western tourists have a strong demand for long-distance international tourism alone. They want to find a new way to design their own routes and arrange activities according to their own unique wishes. Therefore, individual self-help tourism has become a trend. They can avoid the noise and various services of tourist spots and go deep into the life and work of local residents to understand their local customs, which makes them have more opportunities to contact with the culture of tourist destinations, and at the same time, they have a lot of influences on the culture of tourist destinations, making them gradually lose the value and characteristics of traditional culture. Therefore, when developing tourism, tourist destinations must maintain their distinctive local and national characteristics, create excellent humanistic environment, develop them scientifically and with high quality, carry forward the deep connotation of national traditional culture, and attract Chinese and western tourists from different cultural backgrounds with their differences.