Film-induced pilgrimage and contested heritage space in Taipei City

This article examines the effects of film-induced pilgrimages on a specific, often contested aspect of urban place production – the designation of heritage space, a process rooted in the local landscape, architecture, people, artifacts, traditions and stories that render a location culturally and historically significant. In particular, this article examines how film-induced pilgrimages create destination places which, in turn, influence and alter longstanding political struggles over heritage meaning among local residents, preservationists and government agencies. The effect of unanticipated cultural forces, such as film-induced pilgrimages, is rarely politically impartial; rather, a place's destination status may be used and responded to strategically by local stakeholders in support of their conflicting claims over heritage production.