With a more open market policy, and improving standards of living, Chinese citizens have been able to go abroad as tourists since 1997. China has approved 52 countries as tourism destinations. About 20 million Chinese went abroad in 2003 - 14.8 million (about 73% of the total) were private travelers. China is ranked one of the top ten nations for outbound tourism.

Domestic China tourism in 2003 had 870 million tourists, generating ¥344 billion ($41.5B USD) in revenues.

At the same time, there is also a dramatic increase in oversea visitors to China and Chinese Tourism destinations. In 2003, 92 million oversea tourists visited China, generating $17 billion (USD) in revenues, and ranked 7th in the world.

Some Interesting China Travel and Tourism Statistics

• Employment in Chinese tourism reached 6.5 million
• There are some 10,000 star-rated hotels in china with over 1million guest rooms
• There are over 14,000 travel agencies in China (about 10% are international travel agencies, and the remaining are Chinese travel agencies)
• Total China tourism revenues reached $59 billion USD in 2003
• About 92 million international tourists visited China in 2003

China Travel & China Tour Information

With a rich history, China boasts numerous cultural and historical sites including:

• 1271 national key cultural relics
• 177 state level scenic spots
• 101 amour cultural and historical cities
• 342 national forest parks
• 44 national geological parks
• 153 state level nature reserves

Some of the most popular travel tour destination cities in China include:

• Beijing
• Shanghai
• Xian
• Hong Kong
• Chongqing
• Chengdu
• Harbin
• Hainan
• Macao
• Guilin
• Nanjing
• Tianjin
• Kunming
• Shenzhen

Some of the most popular Chinese tourism destinations include:

• the forbidden city
• the great wall of china
• Yantze river
• Lijiang (Li river)
• the Ming tombs
• Terra Cotta warriors in Xian
• Tianmen Square
• Xian city wall
• JiuZhaiGou
• Summer palace
• Wolong giant panda research center
• HuangShang (Yellow mountain)
• Sanya
• Harbin ice festival
• Yellow river
• and so much more...

Some of the most popular Chinese cuisine include:

• Szechwan cuisine (hot, spicy and numbing)
• Cantonese cuisine (Guangdong style)
• Huaiyang cuisine (Jiangsu style)
• Shangdong cuisine
• Imeperial court cuisine
• Beijing roast duck
• Szchuan hot pot
• Mongolian hot pot
• Tan cuisine
• and much more...

While I can't list all of them here, but at TravelChinaTour.com, you will find travel information on all of above plus more and travel guide on all the most famous travel destinations in China.