Brief History of Chinese Tourism
Since ancient times, people from China have been travelling to different parts of the world. The almost 3000 year old famous Silk Route passed through China, India, Persia, the Middle East, Southern Europe, West Africa and the South East of Asia. The people of China actively travelled on this 4,000 mile (6,500 km) important trade route.
A strong desire to travel and explore the world enabled Chinese traders to go to different parts of the world. During the 19th century, China's strong external trade enabled it to be among the top economies of the world. The economic cycle seems to have made a complete circle with the People's Republic of China today becoming the second largest global economy.
In 1949 Mao Zedong became the leader of the People's Republic of China and converted it into a communist state. Since Mao Zedong considered tourism as an anti-Socialist activity, external travel during his reign was severely restricted to either study or work. After Mao's death, Deng Xiaoping took over as the leader of China and he started the process of making China a more market oriented economy. To a large extent, China is today a major economic power because of the reforms initiated by Deng Xiaoping.
Deng Xiaoping's government slowly released the travel restrictions imposed by Mao's government. It started with first allowing mainland Chinese to visit relatives in Hong Kong. This was followed by travel to South East Asian countries of Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore which have a significant local Chinese population. In 1997, the Chinese government further released travel restrictions.
Chinese Tourists Travelling Abroad
The repeal of travel restrictions and the increasingly prosperous population opened the floodgates for international travel by Chinese tourists. Fifty seven million Chinese citizens travelled abroad in 2010 and they collectively spent almost $55 billion. Only Germans and Americans spent more than the Chinese on international travel. One note of caution to Chinese international tourist is that most Chinese official documents are in either simplified or traditional Chinese. Chinese tourist should take certified translations of their documents when they travel abroad, so that the same can be understood by the authorities in the country where they are visiting.
Tourists Visiting China
It's not just Chinese citizens travelling abroad, but China too has a strong inward flow of tourists. In 2010, mainland China (excluding Hong Kong and Macau) welcomed 55.7 million tourists who spent $45.8 billion. After the France and United States of America, China received more inward tourist than any other country in the world.