The designation, conservation and tourism development of agricultural heritage systems, which are embedded with intricate human–nature relations, could significantly influence community livelihoods. Therefore, a livelihood approach is critical for agricultural heritage conservation and the sustainability of the hosting community. Taking Guanhou Village, Xuanhua Grape Garden Urban Agricultural Heritage Site as an example, this study examines impacts of heritage conservation and tourism on the community livelihood system and its implications for community livelihood sustainability. A sustainable livelihood framework is adopted to guide the analysis. Face-to-face in-depth interviews were conducted with management officials, village leaders and village residents. The research identified the importance of Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) designation on raising government support and public awareness on conservation. Tourism emerges as an alternative livelihood to some residents which exerts positive economic influence. However, tourism participation is currently at a low level which restricted the distribution of benefits. The sustainability of local rural livelihood is at risk due to the rapid urbanization, the decline of human resources and the insufficient integration of traditional agriculture with tourism. Practical implications were discussed to enhance local participation and tourism contribution to GIAHS conservation.

With worldwide industrialization and urbanization, agricultural heritage systems are under threat at the global scale despite their exceptional values reflecting intricate human-nature relationships. As a new function of agricultural heritage, tourism does not realize its potential for heritage conservation and community development. Therefore, the integration of multiple heritage values with tourism is highly important for sustaining agricultural heritage systems and rural communities. This study conceptualizes a multiple value system of agricultural heritage to analyze its tourism use and identify linkages for integration. With Duotian Agrosystem, a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage System (GIAHS) in China, as an example, this study identifies the mismatch between tourism demand and supply. Relying on the authenticity of Duotian agricultural landscape in Spring, current tourism is highly seasonal. Limited tourist experiences and ways for community participation are available without sufficient tourism expressions of the historical, socio-cultural, educational, and research values. As a result, the enhancement in livelihood value is restricted. Therefore, innovations are needed to construct diverse links between tourism and the multiple values of Duotian Agrosystem to enhance tourism contributions to heritage conservation and community development. Theoretical and management implications are then discussed in a broader context.

Tourism can be an important strategy for conserving traditional agricultural systems and potentially enhancing livelihoods of hosting communities. The intricate and complex relations between agricultural heritage conservation, tourism and community livelihoods are examined at a GIAHS site in China. Through multi-stakeholder interviews, the study illustrates that the increased government support and public awareness after GIAHS designation do not ease the struggle between conservation and development at Guanhou Village. Particularly in the context of fast urbanization, multi-layer integration of tourism and the agricultural heritage system should be sought to sustain traditional agriculture and enhance community livelihoods. Practical implications are then discussed.

In relation to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s 2002 Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems project, increasing attention has been devoted to agricultural heritage and tourism in China, especially since 2006. Based on an analysis of English and Chinese literature, this paper reviews agricultural heritage and related tourism development in China. The findings suggest that tourism development modes, tourism resource exploration, tourism impacts, and community participation are the most common research topics in this subfield. Research that reveals a deeper understanding of agricultural heritage systems is uncommon, which may result in low levels of community participation and incorrect heritage management approaches in agricultural heritage areas. Problems in the field of agricultural heritage tourism, the unique features of this form of tourism and the enthusiasm for, and insufficiency of, tourism research in China on this topic are discussed based on our analysis. Obviously, more efforts are needed to understand agricultural heritage tourism better by combining valuable international experience with traditional local practices to realize the goal of balancing conservation and tourism development.