Russia topped the list of countries that tour operators listed as the best places to enjoy escorted trips in 2016. Half of the top 10 countries are in Asia, including China.
For the China escorted tour, the fourth on the tour operators' list, The Telegraph recommends Katie Adie's 15-day Highlights of China itinerary tour. The tour brings tourists to iconic landmarks such as the Great Wall of China, the Three Gorges Dam, the Terracotta Warriors, Forbidden City in Beijing and Tianamen Square.
Joining the tour is BBC's Kate Adie and The Daily Telegraph's China correspondent Neil Connor. He will serve as personal guide of the October tours, costing £3,490, for the Li River cruise to Yangshuo and two days in Shanghai.
Other stops on the China tour are the Muslim Quarter in Xi'an, the reed Flute Caves in Guilin and Chongqing which is where the giant pandas could be found.
Next to Russia's Moscow and St. Petersburg, other places that the British daily recommends as the places to visit through escorted tours this year are Sicily, India, Japan, U.S., Burma, South America, Iran, and Australia and New Zealand.
From 2007 to 2014, tourist arrivals have been going up steadily which reached 56 million in 2014. Actually, the bulk of tourists who visit China are ethnic people from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. Not all of them come just for a vacation but also to do business, study or visit relatives in the mainland.
Of the 56 million foreign visitors in 2014, 26 million were non-Chinese tourists. According to Chinahighlights, China is the third most-popular tourist destination in the world after France and the U.S. However, since Hong Kong and Macau are actually part of China, if their tourist numbers are added, China would likely be the number one tourist destination, especially since tourists are now avoiding France because of the November terror attacks in Paris initiated by the Islamic State terrorists.