Local livelihood under different governances of tourism development in China e A case study of Huangshan mountain area Cheng Qian a, b, * , Nophea Sasaki b, c , Damien Jourdain b, d , Sohee Minsun Kim b , P.Ganesh Shivakoti b a Wuhan Institute of Technology, Hubei, 430205, China b School of Environment, Resources, and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, Pathumthani,12120, Thailand c Royal Academy of Cambodia, Phnom Penh, Cambodia d UMR G-EAU, CIRAD, Montpellier, France highlights graphical abstract  Livelihood assets under the Commu- nity-based (CBT) and Lease-Opera- tion Tourism (LOT) were analyzed according to 15 indicators.  CBT governance has higher values of all five capitals than that of LOT, indicating that local livelihoods have been improved.  CBT can contribute to the central government policy on tourism development for reducing poverty in rural areas of China. article info Article history: Received 30 September 2016 Received in revised form 8 December 2016 Accepted 16 January 2017 Keywords: Livelihood assets Sustainable livelihood framework Rural tourism Community participation Institutional arrangement Livelihood strategy abstract China has considered tourism development as an important policy for reducing rural poverty. However, various governances of tourism development have affected local livelihood in different ways. Here, we assessed local livelihood under the community-based (CBT) and lease-to-operate tourism (LOT) gover- nances in two tourism villages; the Jade and Phoenix valleys located in the World Heritage mountain area of Huangshan. We used the sustainable livelihood approach to assess the local household livelihood assets and institutional arrangements that exist in this area with respect to tourism development. Five capital assets were analyzed according to 15 indicators. Values for natural, physical, human, social, and financial capitals were generally higher for CBT. Overall value for livelihood assets was 0.89 under the CBT compared to 0.51 under the LOT indicating that CBT contributed more to livelihood improvement in the rural area. Therefore, the CBT should be promoted as a policy for poverty alleviation in China. © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction As a sustainable development approach, tourism has exerted a tremendous effect on social development, especially in developing countries and remote areas (Ashley & Mitchell, 2005; Rogerson, 2006; O'Sullivan & Jackson, 2002; Saarinen, Rogerson, & Manwa, 2011; Mowforth & Munt, 2015.) According to the Anural Report of * Corresponding author. Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources, and Development, Asian Institute of Technology, P.O. Box 4, Khlong Luang, Pathumthani, 12120, Thailand. E-mail address: qiancheng5156@qq.com (C. Qian). Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Tourism Management journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/tourman http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tourman.2017.01.006 0261-5177/© 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Tourism Management 61 (2017) 221e233