Ethnic communities integrate natural landscapes with unique ecological environments. They are important inheritors of ICH and manifest local cultural characteristics and historical continuity (Prasiasa and Widari, 2019). Social communities possess strong cultural cohesion. They can indicate the charm of ethnic tourism while fulfilling the immersive experience needs of tourists (Li et al., 2021; Wei and Lin, 2025). Furthermore, their abundant ICH resources reflect cultural diversity and ethnic creativity (Ma et al., 2023), underscoring the importance of their preservation and inheritance for community development (Wute, 2021). The survival and continuity of ICH are determined by both natural and human environments (Liu, 2010).

It is challenging to inherit ICH since the inheritance of ICH relies on intergenerational oral and hands-on transmission (Cominelli and Greffe, 2012). There is a lack of a unified definition of ICH; various countries provide diverse interpretations, yet all emphasize its significance in preserving cultural heritage and diversity (Rodzi et al., 2013; Zemska, 2021). ICH is transmitted and innovated by communities, rooted in local cultural spaces, and associated with production and lifestyle practices (Wu and Wang, 2018). Its essence lies in “living continuity,” which depends on human participation and embodies local spiritual values (Lenzerini, 2011).

Tourism development has facilitated urbanization and industrialization (Luo et al., 2016). As a result, ethnic communities face challenges, such as protective destruction and population outflows (Meado, 2013). The emergence of rural tourism has further exacerbated conflicts and assimilation between local and foreign cultures, diminishing residents' willingness to preserve their cultural heritage and their sense of identity (Kabote, 2015). Additionally, these communities face issues such as the destruction of cultural inheritance spaces, a shortage of inheritors, and insufficient funding (Peutz, 2017; Zhang et al., 2023). Consequently, finding ways to overcome these challenges and achieve sustainable cultural inheritance has become an urgent issue.

Cultural inheritance involves the intergenerational transmission and evolution of local culture within complex environments characterized by contradictions and conflicts (Swanson and DeVereaux, 2017). Poulios (2014) introduced the living heritage approach, which centers around the “3C” principle: “Continuity,” which ensures the sustained stability of heritage functions and community ties; “Core community,” denoting the group deeply involved in heritage preservation with a sense of ownership; and “Change,” which denotes the dynamic nature of heritage as it evolves within its historical and cultural context. The primary goal of this approach is not to preserve material authenticity but to maintain the connection between heritage and the community, thereby emphasizing the cultural significance of authenticity and supporting the sustainable development of the community (Nguyen et al., 2025).

Concerning the complex relationship between ICH and tourism development (Starčević et al., 2022), there are two prevailing perspectives in the theoretical and practical integration of culture and tourism. One perspective advocates for the development and utilization of ICH as a tourism asset (Kim et al., 2021), which promotes economic growth (Beeton, 2006) and generates economic benefits for communities. In tourism development, sustainable conservation measures can alleviate threats to ICH (Qiu et al., 2019; Su, 2020). The challenge lies in balancing ICH preservation and economic growth. A mutually reinforcing cycle can be developed through rural revitalization and ICH preservation. In the developed cycle, economic prosperity and cultural engagement can be fostered through cultural resource utilization. Ultimately, synergistic development can be achieved (Qin and Zhen, 2022). The other perspective emphasizes preservation, noting that the spatial dimension of ICH is prone to alteration with tourism development (Wong, 2015). Despite the obvious importance of cultural heritage, ICH in ethnic communities increasingly confronts conflicts with tourism and urbanization (Kim et al., 2021), which threaten the core of traditional practices and heighten the urgency of their preservation (Wendland, 2004). The spatial reorganization of ethnic communities often results in the degradation of cultural heritage and local identity, thereby compromising the integrity of their cultural landscapes (Gui and Lv, 2013). Traditional practices and structures are increasingly jeopardized by modern civilization, endangering handicrafts, folk songs, languages, and customs, and raising the risk of their extinction (Lenzerini, 2011).

We cannot isolate these two perspectives. The ICH functions as a living organism, defined primarily by its constant adaptation to socio-historical changes. A cultural expression can only truly represent its cultural essence over time if it continues to reinvent itself and develop alongside the overall evolution of the culture to which it belongs (Lenzerini, 2011). Therefore, it is necessary to introduce a new theoretical framework to guide academic research on cultural inheritance and sustainable development within ethnic communities (Santa and Tiatco, 2019).

The term “resilience” originated in the field of mechanical physics in the 1950s, describing a system's capacity to return to its original state after undergoing deformation due to external forces, with an emphasis on preserving its original structure and functions (Dillon, 1947; Hoffman, 1948). In the 1970s, Holling (1973) expanded the concept to ecosystem research, proposing that a system might either return to its previous equilibrium or transition to a new one following a disturbance. By the 1990s, the focus had shifted from natural systems to human ecology (Berkes and Folke, 1998), underscoring the ability of complex social-ecological systems to transform, adapt, and innovate in response to pressures. This expanded perspective has been widely applied to address complex social issues, including the dynamics of human-environment interactions in ethnic tourist destinations, which demonstrates its strong theoretical adaptability (Walker et al., 2004). In the field of cultural heritage, Holtorf (2018) defined cultural resilience as the capacity of a cultural system to absorb adversity, respond to change, and sustain long-term development. This definition reflects an endogenous adaptive logic characterized by a cycle of “disturbance-absorption-response-sustainability.”

Despite the valuable insights offered by cultural resilience, it remains predominantly a macro-level framework that focuses on entire cultural systems. When addressing the micro-level challenge of how cultural heritage in ethnic villages can be sustainably transmitted under the pressures of tourism development, cultural resilience provides limited explanatory power and lacks practical measurement methods. This theoretical shortfall highlights the need for the development of RBCI.

Importantly, cultural resilience does not completely align with RBCI (Table 1). Firstly, cultural resilience addresses both tangible and intangible heritage, whereas RBCI is specifically concerned with ICH. ICH is particularly susceptible to distortion and presents significant challenges in terms of protection (Cominelli and Greffe, 2012). Secondly, RBCI centers on the cultural inheritance system, a micro-level phenomenon that is crucial to the operation of cultural resilience (Odling-Smee and Laland, 2011; Ingold, 2020). The inheritance process depends on the coordinated interactions among internal elements and is essential for the transmission of culture across generations, a fundamental aspect highlighted by cultural resilience theories (Douglas and Wildavsky, 1983; Holtorf, 2018). Thirdly, RBCI extends beyond the focus on endogenous adaptation typical of cultural resilience by incorporating proactive enhancements through deliberate interventions. Resilient organizations, for example, continuously refine their practices, enhance performance, strengthen sustainability, and increase stakeholder satisfaction (Harcourt and Ateke, 2018; Saad et al., 2022). Granig and Hilgarter (2020) argue that such proactive strategies significantly bolster resilience. Although derived from organizational studies, the concept of proactive enhancement provides insightful theoretical implications for how ICH inheritance systems can actively improve their adaptive capacity. This proactive approach is consistent with the core of cultural resilience, which is the ability to thrive in the face of challenges or extreme events (Magis, 2010), and highlights its inherently proactive nature. Furthermore, Berkes and Ross (2016) emphasize that resilience at the community level largely depends on actor agency and continuous social interactions, thus supporting the notion of proactive adaptation within ICH inheritance systems (Bui et al., 2020).

Therefore, RBCI can be defined as the ability of an ICH inheritance system to respond to external disturbances through coordinated internal mechanisms, thereby facilitating cultural continuity, adaptation, and development. Its dynamic process, exemplified by the sequence “disturbance → response → adaptation → enhancement → continuity,” underscores both the endogenous stability and the proactive enhancement of the inheritance system. This conceptual framework not only elucidates the internal logic of cultural transmission but also offers practical guidelines for enhancing the resilience of ICH in ethnic communities affected by tourism-driven change.

The primary objective of this study is to investigate the conceptual structure of RBCI and to develop and validate a corresponding scale. We adopted a mixed-methods research approach, which combines rigorous data collection procedures with statistical analysis to accurately assess the impact of multiple factors on the target outcomes (Wang et al., 2023). This article includes two main studies. Study 1 employed qualitative research methods. Using qualitative data, we applied grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1998) to explore the potential dimensional structure of RBCI. Given the complexity of RBCI, this phase involved collecting relevant qualitative data from diverse samples using multiple methods. We utilized multidimensional validation to effectively enhance information accuracy (Yu and Xu, 2019). Study 2 involved the design of measurement items based on the results of the qualitative research and conducted quantitative research. Data were collected through extensive surveys, and both exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were utilized to develop an RBCI scale characterized by high reliability and validity.

This study selected the Xijiang Miao Community and Zhaoxing Dong Community in Guizhou Province as its research sites, based on three principal considerations: theoretical relevance, representativeness, and research feasibility.

Firstly, both sites are situated within the Qiandongnan National Cultural Ecosystem Conservation Areas, which is one of the regions in China with the highest density of ICH (Yuan and Fan, 2025). As quintessential settlements of the Miao and Dong ethnic groups, these communities offer rich examples of ritual traditions, craftsmanship, social structures, and cultural expressions. These features are emblematic of ethnic typicality and facilitate a thorough examination of the core characteristics of ethnic minority cultures in China (Hu et al., 2022; Jiang et al., 2023).

Secondly, Xijiang and Zhaoxing have experienced extensive and profound tourism development, which positions them as exemplary cases of cultural restructuring in response to external influences. The processes of commercialization, community governance, and cultural negotiation within these sites provide a pertinent practical context for analyzing the resilience of ICH inheritance mechanisms within tourism environments. Additionally, these communities illustrate the adaptation and evolutionary processes of cultural inheritance systems under duress (York et al., 2021).

Thirdly, the research team conducted extensive, continuous fieldwork at both sites throughout 2024. Through immersive observation and interviews with multiple stakeholders, the team acquired a comprehensive understanding of the communities' cultural ecologies, stakeholder relationships, and tourism operational dynamics, thereby collecting rich and reliable primary data. Furthermore, to enhance the credibility and robustness of the findings, the study utilized methodological triangulation, incorporating diverse sources such as interviews, online reviews, and tourist narratives. By contrasting and comparing data across different types and cases, the research scrutinized the emergence of new categories, ensuring theoretical saturation.

Data for this study were primarily collected from three complementary and mutually verified sources (Seyfi et al., 2019). The first source was online review data. We employed the template function of Bazhuayu Data Collector 8 to extract 5,810 online reviews from Mafengwo.com and Mtrip.com, two prominent Chinese travel websites (Cao et al., 2021). Following the exclusion of advertisements, invalid entries, and comments that were too brief to provide meaningful insights, 3,595 valid reviews were retained. The second source was travelogue data, for which Python 3 was utilized to automate data extraction (Wang et al., 2023). This process was supplemented by manual screening to remove advertisements and travelogues not pertinent to the research theme, resulting in the retention of 31 valid travelogues. The combined word count of the valid reviews and travelogues was approximately 522,000 words. The third source comprised interview data. On-site interviews were conducted between April and May 2024, targeting respondents with profound cultural experience (Tsao and Ni, 2016). Participants, all of whom were over 18 years old, were purposively selected for their familiarity with the communities' intangible cultural heritage (Zhang et al., 2024). A total of 21 interviews were conducted with participants (11 females and 10 males) who were aged 20 years or older and represented a diverse range of educational backgrounds and occupations, including ICH inheritors, tour guides, tourism development company managers, local operators, and tourists. All local participants had resided in the communities for over 10 years (Table 2). This demographic diversity contributed significantly to the credibility and comprehensiveness of the qualitative findings (Zhang et al., 2024). Each interview, lasting approximately 30–40 min, explored participants' understanding and perceptions of intangible heritage, the cultural inheritance environment, and their attitudes toward its current state and significance. With informed consent, the interviews were recorded and transcribed. Saturation was achieved after the 18th interview, with three subsequent interviews adding no new categories, thereby aligning with widely accepted standards for saturation in qualitative theory-building studies (Guest et al., 2006). The interviews generated approximately 87,000 words of data.

In this study, we employed grounded theory (Strauss and Corbin, 1998). Contrary to theoretical models predicated on empirical speculation, grounded theory facilitates the emergence of theories directly from data, thus providing a more accurate reflection of reality (Stumpf et al., 2016). This methodology not only deepens understanding but also enhances the practical relevance of the theory (Matteucci and Gnoth, 2017). To discern the dimensions underlying the RBCI, the raw textual data were subjected to a three-tiered coding approach, namely open, axial, and selective coding (Wang et al., 2024). A random sample comprising 75% of the texts was selected for coding, while the remaining 25% was reserved for a theoretical saturation test (Cao et al., 2021).

The primary objective of this study is to develop and validate a scale for measuring RBCI. This process adheres to Churchill's three key procedures for scale development and validation: item generation, structural exploration, and validity testing (Churchill, 1979). In previous research utilizing grounded theory, we identified a four-dimensional structure of RBCI in ethnic villages. Grounded theory typically involves extracting data from typical survey respondents, which has resulted in a lack of a universally applicable measurement method. To bridge this gap, the current study aims to develop a comprehensive tool to assess the cultural inheritance status of ICH in ethnic villages. As part of the standard scale design process, we integrated relevant literature and raw data to preliminarily design a questionnaire consisting of 21 items (MacKenzie et al., 2011).

Internal and external evaluation teams were established to refine the scale. The internal team, comprising two experts and two doctoral students specializing in cultural tourism, was primarily responsible for ensuring the alignment between constructs and items, and for eliminating complex, incomprehensible, or redundant expressions to ensure clarity and unambiguity of the scale (Zhang S. et al., 2021). The external team, consisting of two experts and five graduate students, assessed content validity by evaluating the core conceptual connotations of the scale and determining the accuracy with which the items reflect the conceptual domains of each dimension (Schriesheim and Hinkin, 1990). Upon reviewing the concept of RBCI, the connotations of major categories, initial categories, and the items, a scoring method was employed (1 = not appropriate, 5 = highly appropriate) (Sun et al., 2020). According to Lynn (1986), for six or more experts, an item-level content validity index of 0.78 or higher is considered acceptable. Consequently, two items were removed (Table 5), and the wording of the remaining items was optimized. Ultimately, 19 initial items were selected for further research. All retained items underwent a review process to ensure their complete conceptual alignment with the theoretical definitions of the four RBCI dimensions. Prior to the full questionnaire survey, 61 questionnaires were distributed in the Xijiang Miao community for initial testing of the scale, which facilitated further revisions and improvements. The refined items are listed in Table 6 and were used in the official survey phase.

The questionnaire employed a 7-point Likert scale for measurement. Data collection was primarily conducted offline. Paper questionnaires were distributed among distinct groups, including residents, tourists, and staff from tourism enterprises. Upon completion of the questionnaire, respondents were compensated with either a cup of milk tea or a voucher worth 15 yuan. The required sample size for both EFA and CFA should be at least five times the number of items in the scale (DeVellis and Thorpe, 2021). Following this guideline, a total of 388 questionnaires were collected, of which 338 were valid, resulting in an effectiveness rate of 87.11%. The valid questionnaire samples were divided into two equal groups: one (N = 169) for exploratory factor analysis and another (N = 169) for confirmatory factor analysis. The demographic characteristics of the questionnaire sample are presented in Table 7.

Exploratory factor analysis was conducted to assess the validity of the items and to uncover common factors among the observed variables, thus exploring the dimensions of RBCI. Initially, Sample 1 (N = 169) was analyzed using SPSS 27.0. The results revealed a Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) value of 0.839 and a chi-square value of 1,285.804 for Bartlett's test of sphericity (p < 0.001), with 171 degrees of freedom (df). These metrics indicate a significant correlation among the items, suggesting the presence of potential common factors, thus rendering the data suitable for factor analysis (York et al., 2021). Harman's single-factor test demonstrated that the first extracted factor accounted for only 30.024% of the variance (< 50%), indicating the absence of common method bias (Podsakoff et al., 2003). Subsequently, the maximum variance method was utilized to extract and orthogonally rotate factors (Kim and Eves, 2012). Items were excluded based on the following criteria: rotated factor loadings below 0.5; loadings on two factors simultaneously exceeding 0.4; factor commonality below 0.5 (Straub, 1989). After this process, five items, MCA4: Balances commercialization with traditional culture (communality = 0.345); CCA5: Unique cultural symbols are clearly maintained and recognized (communality = 0.195); DCC4: Accesses market resources for Intangible Cultural Heritage development (communality = 0.281); CCA4: The expressions of traditional languages and songs remain stable (communality = 0.320); VCO4: Sets a good example for other communities (communality = 0.388), were sequentially removed for failing to meet the communality threshold (≥0.50) (Table 5). This left 14 items with factor loadings ranging from 0.760 to 0.844 (Table 8). Furthermore, common factors were extracted based on the principle of eigenvalues exceeding 1, resulting in the identification of four common factors with a cumulative variance contribution rate of 73.366%. This indicates that the four common factors effectively explained the data. The results of the exploratory factor analysis were largely consistent with the coding relationship derived from grounded theory, providing initial validation of the scale's validity.

Upon importing 169 valid questionnaires into SPSS 27.0 for reliability analysis, the data revealed that the overall Cronbach's α for the scale was 0.876. The Cronbach's α values for each dimension exceeded 0.8, with values for CCA, DCC, MCA, and VCO ranging from 0.833 to 0.869. Additionally, the reliability coefficient decreased when any item was deleted, demonstrating a strong correlation and high internal consistency among the factors in this study (Table 9). Consequently, it can be concluded that the items within each dimension of the scale are reliable.

To assess the scale's structural stability, this study executed a confirmatory factor analysis using the second sample (N = 169). As revealed by the data, the factor loading values for the 14 items ranged from 0.707 to 0.865. Thus, a high level of structural validity for the scale was indicated. The convergent validity was tested by calculating the Composite Reliability (CR) and Average Variance Extracted (AVE). As indicated by the result, the CR values for each dimension ranged from 0.827 to 0.882, all surpassing the threshold of 0.700. Moreover, the AVE values for each dimension surpassed the threshold of 0.500, signifying robust convergent validity for the scale (Sun et al., 2020) (Table 10). Moreover, the square root values of the AVE for the four dimensions were higher than the correlation coefficients between them, indicating excellent discriminant validity among the dimensions (Table 11).

Using the same sample, three competing models were analyzed using AMOS 24.0: Model 1 featured a single first-order factor with 14 items; Model 2 included a four-factor model; Model 3 consisted of a four first-order factor model. The validation results of these models indicated that Model 3 was the optimal factor structure for RBCI (Otoo et al., 2021) (Table 12). The overall fit indices for the measurement model were satisfactory: χ² was 85.130, χ²/df was 1.199, within the acceptable range of 1–3; TLI, NFI, IFI, CFI all exceeded 0.90; GFI was above 0.9; RMSEA was 0.034, well below the threshold of 0.05, thus meeting the fit standards (Bentler, 1988; Cao et al., 2021). These indices further substantiated the scale's validity and applicability. Beyond statistical superiority, Model 3′s theoretical advantage is its alignment with the essence of RBCI as a multidimensional collaborative framework, accurately representing the four independent yet interconnected dimensions and retaining clear functional boundaries while reflecting the “dynamic interaction of multiple elements” inherent in resilience systems. This makes it the most suitable model for both theoretical consistency and practical relevance.

We conducted a structural equation modeling path analysis, and the results are presented in Figure 3. The correlation coefficients among all constructs are below 0.750, indicating the absence of multicollinearity issues in the model. This finding suggests that the four dimensions are not only interrelated but also, from the perspective of the RBCI interaction framework, CCA, DCC, MCA, and VCO do not exist in isolation. Instead, they form a dynamic interactive chain: CCA acts as RBCI's self-adaptive mechanism, ensuring the preservation of cultural identity in ICH inheritance amidst disturbances; when disturbances exceed the threshold of tolerance, DCC creates adaptive conditions to support survival and recovery; MCA challenges existing paradigms while upholding core values to ensure the continuity and evolution of inheritance; VCO assesses the effectiveness of inheritance through positive or negative feedback, thereby driving synergistic inheritance and development. This dynamic interactive chain also corroborates the theoretical framework proposed in Study 1. The study employed rigorous research methods and robust quantitative analysis to validate the scale items, ultimately confirming that RBCI comprises four dimensions and 14 items.

First, the results of this study reveal that cultural inheritance resilience represents a process chain consisting of “CCA, DCC, MCA, and VCO.” Each of these four dimensions contributes uniquely to explaining how resilience is formed within ICH inheritance systems. CCA elucidates how core cultural meanings are preserved and activated; DCC illustrates how environmental and spatial conditions shape inheritance capacity; MCA demonstrates community agency through observable adaptive cultural variations; and VCO elucidates how value-based feedback reinforces and stabilizes the inheritance process over time. Unlike previous studies that focus on macro cultural systems and manifestations of cultural resilience (Beel et al., 2017; Tolkach and Pratt, 2022; Li et al., 2024), this research begins at the micro-level inheritance process. It addresses the previously insufficient explanation of the internal operational logic of sustainable cultural inheritance in existing studies on cultural resilience and provides more detailed evidence for understanding the micro-mechanisms of the inheritance system under external pressures.

Second, this study finds that the cultural inheritance process does not passively accept cultural shocks; instead, it achieves a moderate adjustment through continuous negotiation and selection. This balances the needs of inheritance with market demands, responding to the concept of actor agency as proposed by Berkes and Ross (2016) from the perspective of cultural inheritance. It provides possibilities for the proactive adaptation of ICH inheritance (Bui et al., 2020). Bui et al. (2020) also observed that communities do not passively endure disturbances but instead respond through adaptation, resulting in feedback loops and two-way interactions among processes that influence community resilience. This study further demonstrates that community agency is not an abstract concept but is manifested in a series of observable and strategic actions. These actions take the form of various “adaptive cultural variations,” such as modifications in cultural communication, digital reinterpretation, intercultural integration, moderate commercial adaptation, and innovation based on traditional elements. As indicated by the cases in this study, moderate cultural adaptation does not signify distortion or degradation, consistent with the concept of “cultural plasticity,” proposed by Holtorf (2018). Instead, it represents the preservation and re-articulation of core cultural meanings within acceptable boundaries, allowing the culture to remain relevant, understandable, and sustainable in changing social contexts.

Third, the structural dimensions of RBCI proposed in this study provide an operational path for measuring cultural resilience. Although the importance of cultural resilience within the tourism destination system resilience framework is recognized by researchers, it is often treated as a secondary subsystem in practice due to difficulties in quantifying it (Hu et al., 2021). While numerous studies exist, they are limited geographically and are often oversimplified. For instance, the appropriateness of using indicators such as the number of ICH inheritors and the area of cultural spaces to measure cultural resilience is not comprehensive (Chen and Cheng, 2025). Therefore, this study proposes the method of measuring RBCI through scale items rather than statistical indicators and constructs corresponding measurement standards rigorously following the scale development process. Ultimately, a four-dimensional scale with 14 items was developed. The developed scale demonstrates good reliability and validity, and it can serve as a novel tool to support the quantitative research on cultural inheritance resilience.

This study offers significant contributions both theoretically and practically; however, it still has some limitations. Firstly, the empirical data for this study were obtained from two ethnic communities within Qiandongnan Prefecture. While these communities have strong cultural representativeness, they cannot fully reflect the diversity of ICH inheritance models present in other regions or outside tourism-focused contexts. Consequently, future research can conduct further verification and refinement across diverse cultures, geographical locations, and stages of development to augment the universality of the RBCI scale. Secondly, although this study delineates the principal structural dimensions of RBCI, it does not empirically examine the external factors that influence the formation of RBCI. Future studies could employ methods such as Fuzzy Set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) to more thoroughly uncover the interactive relationships among various influencing factors in the cultural inheritance resilience formation process. Lastly, the findings reveal a substantial disparity between cultural supply and tourist demand, thereby highlighting the persistent tension between cultural preservation and necessary adaptation (Parga-Dans et al., 2020). The concept of “moderate adjustment,” introduced in this study, requires further theoretical refinement and empirical validation, particularly in terms of how communities might address market demands while preserving cultural integrity.