Crafting Chinese Cultural Identity: The Role of Traditional Artisans in George Town World Heritage Site

Abstract

George Town, Malaysia, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is often discussed through its architectural legacy and histories of trade and migration. Drawing on ethnographic fieldwork among Chinese artisans, this study examines how cultural identities are produced through everyday craft practice in the context of urban transformation. Focusing on rattan weaving and paper effigy-making, the analysis traces how identity takes shape through routine judgements embedded in work processes and in the handling of materials and ritual forms. The two cases show that adaptation follows different practical logics in commercial craft and ritual production, as artisans recalibrate inherited repertoires in response to shifting conditions of work and use. The findings indicate that heritage emerges as a practical achievement sustained through embodied labour and everyday interaction and maintained through continual adjustment within craft worlds. By foregrounding craft-centred ethnography, the study contributes to discussions of cultural identity, living heritage, and urban change, and highlights the role of non-elite actors in shaping the social texture of heritage cities.