Industrial heritage is a legacy from the past that we live with today and pass on to future generations. The economic value of this heritage can be defined as the amount of welfare that it generates for society, and this value should not be ignored. However, current research based on economic analysis has mostly focused on qualitative statements instead of quantitative assessment. This study proposes an innovative methodology combining qualitative (field research) and quantitative (willingness to pay and contingent valuation) methods to assess the economic value of industrial heritage. The industrial heritage of Tangshan, China, was chosen as a case study, and the research found that museums and cultural creative parks are effective ways to conserve industrial heritage. The entrance fee can be used to represent the economic value of the heritage site. There was a positive correlation between the influence of economic value and the entrance fees residents would prefer to pay. The results indicate the locals would prefer lower entrance fees for the transformed heritage museums (The average current cost: $2.23). Locals were most concerned about the entrance fees for the Kailuan Coal Mine and Qixin Cement Plant Museums, which have both been renewed as urban landmarks for city tourism. Renewal methods have been applied to six industrial heritage sites in Tangshan; these sites have their own conservation and renewal practices based on city-level development or industrial attributes. Thus, when residents recognize the economic value of a heritage site, they are willing to pay a higher entrance fee. This research demonstrates the economic value of industrial heritage using a mixed methods approach and provides a basis for assessing the value of cultural heritage for urban tourism analysis.

This article attempts to use public sphere theory as a starting point to compare the behavior of the British government in protecting the interests of British business in China in the 19th century with the Chinese government’s neglect of the interests of Chinese business in the Philippines. Mill’s method of finding identities will be used. This article uses the Shanghai Branch of the China Association and the Philippine Chinese Charitable Association Inc. as representatives of civil business groups in the UK and China. For the UK, due to the public sphere of competition with the central government within the UK, civil business groups must consult with relevant civil business groups when implementing any economic foreign policy. This process promotes consensus between the British government and society to promotes the British government’s determination to maintain British business in China. However, for China, due to the absence of a public sphere where the central government interacts with society, even though Chinese civil business groups have huge interests overseas, the state and society have always been unable to form a positive interaction. At the same time, this situation also results in Chinese business in the Philippines having to rely on their abilities to maintain their local interests.