SINGAPORE: When Ruveena D Souza, 37, decided to extend her stay in China by two weeks last November, she did not stick to the country’s usual tourist trail.Beijing, Xi’an and Chengdu had been on her itinerary - but so was Xingping, a small town in southern China’s Guilin city, known for its dramatic karst scenery and the Yellow Cloth Shoal, a stretch of the Li River depicted on the 20 yuan note.D Souza spent two days in Xingping, riding a bamboo raft down the Yulong river and visiting Xingping Ancient Town, where she explored coffee shops and checked out local vendors selling wooden toys.The town was “very laid-back”, she said - a far cry from the bustling crowds in Beijing.
The locals were also “really nice”, she said.“They were really curious about us, because I don’t think there are a lot of tourists from India,” she added.“They would approach us and ask where we were from.”
Singaporean Chleo Lee visited Yunnan province with her family earlier in April 2026, where they joined a 10-day guided tour exploring villages and various scenic sights in Shangri-La, Dali and Lijiang. (Photo: Chleo Lee)
Singaporean Chleo Lee visited Yunnan province with her family earlier this year in April.They joined a 10-day guided tour, exploring villages and various scenic sights in Shangri-La, Dali and Lijiang.It was not Lee’s first time in China, having previously visited cities like Chengdu, Chongqing and Zhangjiajie as well as Beijing and Guangzhou.Her parents’ interest in Yunnan was piqued after watching travel videos about the region, especially videos from content creators visiting various scenic spots.Family friends had also shared their own tips and experiences visiting Yunnan and Dali, Lee said.GROWING INTEREST IN RURAL CHINAChina welcomed nearly 23 million foreign visitors in the first half of 2026, statistics released by the National Immigration Authority (NIA) in July showed - up 20.4 per cent from the same period a year earlier.As international travel to the country grows, there are signs that some visitors are looking beyond its traditional tourist hubs.A 2025 report by travel agency Trip.com found that inbound bookings at its affiliated rural retreats had risen 50 per cent year-on-year.“Visiting the Chinese countryside” was emerging as a new choice for foreign tourists, the agency said - with Australia, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States among the biggest sources of visitors.The trend also comes amid a broader rural tourism boom among domestic tourists. Around 793 million visits to rural destinations were recorded in the first quarter of 2026, up 12.2 per cent year-on-year, according to Ministry of Culture and Tourism estimates cited by Xinhua.Rural tourism revenue also rose 10.9 per cent to 457 billion yuan (US$63.5 billion) over the same period.Chinese media outlets have also reported a growing appetite among foreign visitors for trips beyond major cities and into the countryside, where they are drawn by natural landscapes, traditional culture and hands-on experiences.
