The emergence of a newly rich middle class and an easing of restrictions on movement by the Chinese authorities are both fueling this travel boom.

According to Euromonitor International, economic growth and higher incomes in nearby Asian countries will help China to become the world's number one tourist destination by 2030.

[5] Since 2012, tourists from China have been the world's top spender in international tourism, leading global outbound travel.

[8]: 92  Premier Zhou Enlai stated that the purpose of tourism was "to xuanchuan ourselves, understand others, wield influence, and gain sympathy".

[8]: 97  As tourism became an important means of obtaining foreign currency for the government, China emphasized its exotic qualities to international tourists.

[10] In 2015, China was the fourth most visited country in the world, after France, United States, and Spain, with 56.9 million international tourists per year.

In 1978, China received about 230,000 international foreign tourists, mostly because of the severe limitations that the government placed on who was allowed to visit the country and who was not.

[21]: 64 A form of agritourism called nongjia le (with the literal meaning, "joy of farmers' families") has been popular among urban Chinese people.

The categories are awarded based on, amongst other factors, the importance of the site, transportation, tours as well as issues related to safety and sanitation.

Another mountain celebrated for its beauty is Huangshan in southern Anhui, known for its graceful pines, unusual rocks, cloud seas and hot springs.

Jiuzhaigou in northern Sichuan is a beautiful "fairyland valley" running over 40 km through snow-covered mountains, lakes, waterfalls, and forest.

The Li River in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region winds its way through karst peaks for 82 km between Guilin and Yangshuo.

As the greatest defense-structure project in the history of human civilization, it dates back more than 2,000 years ago to the Spring and Autumn and the Warring States periods - huge in its scale and grandeur.

In Hubei, the beautiful Wudang Mountain, with 72 peaks covering an area of 30 km2 (12 sq mi), form a sacred site of Taoism, which preserves one of China's most complete and largest-scale ancient Taoist architecture.

In western Sichuan, Mount Emei, dotted with ancient Buddhist temples and structures, is one of China's four sacred Buddhist mountains｡ South of the Yangtze River, Suzhou and Hangzhou, long known as "paradise on earth", are crisscrossed with rivers, lakes, bridges, fields and villages, as beautiful as paintings.

Today's well-preserved ancient cities includes that of Pingyao in central Shanxi, but was also the site of the Neolithic era Yangshao and Longshan cultures, 5,000 to 6,000 years ago.

It became traditional to burn incense and offer sacrifices to commemorate her virtues every year and the festival has become a major annual gathering for Bai commercial, cultural and sports activities.

The Water-Sprinkling Festival of the Dai ethnic group in Xishuangbanna, Yunnan, is a lively occasion taking place in the spring.

People chase and pour water (a symbol of good luck and happiness) over each other, among other activities such as dragon boat racing and peacock dance.

The matriarchal society of the 30,000 local Mosuo people is noted for its "no marriage" traditions and is called the last women's kingdom on the earth.

Mosuo women, local dugout canoes and undulating singing style are considered unique to Lugu Lake.

Throughout China many hotels and restaurants have been constructed, renovated or expanded to satisfy all levels of requirement, including many with five or six-star ratings.

On June 12, 2003, the China National Tourism Administration and the Ministry of Commerce jointly issued Interim Regulations on the Establishment of Foreign-funded or Wholly Foreign-owned Travel Agencies.