Foreign tourists venture beyond landmarks, discovering deeper China through repeat visits

The Great Wall and the Forbidden City still draw crowds, but they're no longer the whole story. This year, China's inbound tourism market has shifted. Foreign visitors are coming back—second trips, third trips, sometimes more—and they're heading somewhere else entirely. They're chasing deserts and glass bridges, learning to make sugar figurines, watching artisans work metal in ancient cities. The landmark tour is giving way to something deeper.

In Ordos, in Inner Mongolia's north, the Xiangshawan Desert scenic area has become a laboratory for what this new tourism looks like. The operation there has woven together unlikely experiences: camel rides across dunes, desert vehicle expeditions, water activities, and indoor ice skating—all within the same sprawling complex. Since July 1, the area has welcomed 16,000 foreign visitors, a jump of 176 percent from the same period last year. Most came from South Korea, Thailand, Malaysia, and Singapore. The formula works because it doesn't ask visitors to choose between adventure and novelty; it offers both at once.

Across Inner Mongolia more broadly, the region pulled in just over one million inbound tourists in the first half of the year, up nearly 12 percent from the previous year. Those visitors spent 5.5 billion yuan—roughly $766 million—a 16 percent increase. Tourism operators have learned that the path to longer stays and deeper engagement runs through nighttime performances, regional food, and intangible cultural heritage. In Erenhot, a border city, foreign travelers have embraced calligraphy classes and the craft of making handmade sugar figurines, activities that anchor them to place and people.

Zhangjiajie, in Hunan Province in central China, has become another magnet. The city's dramatic mountain landscapes draw international visitors, but what keeps them engaged is the menu of experiences layered on top: glass bridge walks, via ferrata climbing, high-altitude zip lines. Since July, the Grand Canyon scenic area there has averaged nearly 10,000 visitors daily, with foreign tourists making up more than half. The area has installed a multilingual AI tourism assistant that operates in 14 languages and upgraded payment systems to smooth the visitor experience. These are small details, but they matter—they signal that the infrastructure is being built for people who want to stay and explore, not rush through.

The pull extends to cultural destinations that rarely appeared on traditional itineraries. Kashi Ancient City in Xinjiang has become a draw for its traditional metalwork, pottery, ethnic music, and the texture of its historic neighborhoods. Baima Tibetan Ethnic Township in Sichuan, a lesser-known destination, is gaining traction among foreign visitors who want to participate in making traditional foods and learning handicrafts—not observing from a distance, but doing the work alongside residents.

None of this would be possible without structural changes. By April, China had opened visa-free entry to citizens of 50 countries and established mutual visa exemption arrangements with 29 others. The 240-hour visa-free transit policy now covers 55 countries. One hundred sixty cities have opened direct international flight routes. These policy shifts have removed friction from the decision to visit, and they've made it easier to venture beyond Beijing and Shanghai.

Ulvi, a British traveler, has visited China three times and is planning a fourth. Her journeys have taken her from the major cities to the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau and Mount Qomolangma; next year she wants to explore the Silk Road. She credits the visa-free policy with giving her the confidence to keep returning. Wu Yu, who runs a British travel company, has noticed the same pattern: social media travel videos are drawing more British tourists to China, and his company has responded by redesigning routes to include experiences like Chongqing's drone light shows—the kind of thing that makes China feel contemporary and alive, not frozen in time.

Lim Kimsruong, a Cambodian travel blogger, has built an audience by sharing her China experiences online. She's struck by the country's rapid development and the convenience of the high-speed railway network. For some Cambodian visitors, the trips serve another purpose: Entrepreneur Lim Lida has traveled to China multiple times to scout advanced technologies and equipment to bring back home. Tourism and commerce are beginning to blur.

What's emerging is a tourism economy that has learned to offer something beyond the postcard. Desert adventures in Inner Mongolia, cultural immersion in border towns, summer escapes in Zhangjiajie, ethnic traditions in Kashi—these are the new itineraries. The shift from "seeing China" to "experiencing China" is subtle in language but profound in practice. First-time visitors are becoming repeat travelers. The question now is whether the infrastructure and innovation can keep pace with the appetite.