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Based on naturally occurring audio-video data collected from university campus settings, this study has identified four nonverbal actions ¾ zhùshì "gaze", diantóu "head nods", wexiao "gentle smile" and shouchù " hand touch" employed by Mandarin Chinese speakers in their interpersonal communication. Detailed data analysis and discussion reveal how Mandarin Chinese speakers manage their affiliation and attachment nonverbally with the co-participants in conversations. Finally, the significance of the study is discussed.Key Words: affiliation, Chinese communication, conversation analysis, nonverbal communication

The Chinese success depends upon five decisive factors: concise and pragmatic development theories, strict and efficient administrative system, economic structure supporting capitals with restriction, opening-up policy being implemented in a well-controlled and gradual manner, hardworking people with a creative spirit. The Chinese development confronts several problems: its cost is too high; some important relations have lost their balance; the reform of the political institutions has lagged behind the economic reform; some countries feel nervous about China's development, etc. To maintain its sustainability China must deal with five pairs of relations, namely those between social justice and efficiency, political reform and economic reform, economic development and ecological protection, native culture and foreign culture, and between righteousness and benefit. Finally, improving the China model will be beneficial to the world development.

Abstract

Purpose
This paper aims to analyze how vloggers use interactions of different modalities in transnational travel vlogs on YouTube to draw audiences' attentions, as well as the impact of the socio-cultural context on the discourse of these vlogs and the represented city images.


Design/methodology/approach
This research project adopts a multimodal approach by using a new analytical framework based on provenance symbols in semiotics, appraisal systems, and visual grammar in linguistics as theoretical foundations.


Findings
Our research findings show that there are four dominant themes, including nature enjoyment, landmark visiting and street wandering, food tasting, and infrastructure evaluation in these vlogs. North American full-time vloggers with advanced skills and rich experience are the main contributors, which may lead to a fixed and biased representation of city images. The mechanism of city image formation, from cities' physical existence to foreign viewers' perception via transnational travel vlogs, has also been illustrated.


Implications
The city image exists in a dynamic landscape where online opinion leaders also hold significant discourse power. Though becoming more visible, cities are facing challenges related to the increasing homogenization of mediated images. The research findings also have practical implications for redefining approaches to the international communication of city images to diverse stakeholders including city administrators and travel vloggers.


Originality/value
This paper expands the scope of research on urban communication by adopting a comparative and global perspective. The new analytical framework can serve as a reference for future studies on new media content. Furthermore, the systematic mechanism of city image formation presented contributes to a deeper understanding of the role of new media in the international communication of city images.