Eat like a local : a culture cuisine guide for the English-speaking visitor in a non-major city in China : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for a Master in Design at Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand

Abstract

Cuisine and dining traditions are emblematic of local culture (Sutton, 2010), and tourism food consumption is an important way for travellers to experience the local culture (Chang, Kivela, & Mak, 2010; Germann Molz, 2007). As we know, China is not an English-speaking country, which has become a barrier for non-Chinese speaking travellers to travel independently. However, China is gradually perfecting multilingual translations of urban road signs and attractions, but there are still large gaps when it comes to food translations. In China, authentic food is usually hidden in the lives of local people. Due to many of these restaurants are family-owned inheritance of old stores with no commercial propaganda and gimmicks, and all rely on the reputation of customers. This project aims to design interactive media to help the English-speaking traveller to break the language barrier and experience Chinese food like a local. By focusing on authentic Chinese local food located in non-major cities that receive less attention from travellers. Most of the non-major cities are not well-known because there is not much tourist information available. Using the city of Changsha as a model, the function of interactive media will cover the basic functions of existing food apps, such as restaurant introductions, locations, recommendations, and menus and prices. Includes new features that differ from the general food app, such as food stories and dining traditions; food ingredients, with possible allergens; and diet habits. The goal is to design a digital guide for the English-speaking travellers in China.