SUMMARY
This article discusses the multiple meaning of ‘heritage’ in the context of an archaeological and World Heritage Site which experiences mass tourism. The article analyses the dimension of interaction between tourists and site interpreters. Following Erving Goffman’s frame analyses, this article proposes the notion of “tourism frames” to analyze the meaning maintained or transformed during encounters between tourists and on-site actors. My field research to the Mogao Caves in China provides an empirical case study. It discusses the tourism frames of the Mogao Caves regarding the consents, disavowal, or contestations in the interactive dynamics between different types of tourists and guides. The article concludes that the meanings of this grotto site are not statically decided by site interpreters, but rather are constantly framed and reframed through tourism interactions.