Illustrations of Chinese tourism research

The paper serves as an introduction to this special issue reporting research findings previously published in China's leading tourism journal, Tourism Tribune. It describes the origins of the initial decision to undertake the project, the difficulties experienced, but more importantly comments on the papers. Such comments draw attention to the different traditions of tourism between the West and China, to the role of the Chinese government in the development of tourism, to the role of tourism itself in Chinese policy and the implicit challenges tourism presents as people increasingly see the taking of holidays as part of the 'new normal' of Chinese life under Xi's 'Chinese Dream'.