China Herald

Wei Gu

China’s top travel destinations welcomed 24 percent more tourists than a year earlier on Oct. 1, according to the national travel bureau. While the slowing economy may have dampened demand for luxury goods, Chinese interest in short breaks is still high. The number of visitors to the new Three Gorges dam on National Day was up by 250 percent year-on-year. Almost 36,000 people descended on Xi’an to see the Terracotta warriors on the same day, twice the number in 2011. The mass movement of people contributed to giant traffic jams across the country. 

For the rest of the world, China’s latest export -  its people – is only just getting under way. Only 38 million Chinese, or less than 3 percent of the population, currently own a passport, though that number has been rising by 20 percent a year. 

Chinese tourism has been a rare bright spot for the global travel industry. The country is now the third-largest spender on international travel, after Germany and the United States, according to the World Tourism Organisation. In 2011, Chinese outbound travel rose 32 percent. As the Chinese start their great march abroad, the rest of the world will see golden opportunities, as well as great gridlocks.

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Rupert Hoogewerf

The fallout of Beijing's efforts to curb real-estate speculation across the country has knocked out property as the largest source for wealth for China's richest. The fall for real estate marks a first since Hurun's records began in 1999, the report said. 

Similar to last year's ranking, four of the top 10 richest are tied to property. Though two of the four saw their wealth dwindle, with Evergrande Real Estate Group Ltd.3333.HK +0.66% Chairman Xu Jiayin's net worth falling 24% this year, according to Hurun. Mr. Xu ranks ninth, down from fifth last year. Evergrande couldn't be reached to comment. 

Some property tycoons are still in ascent. Wang Jianlin, founder of property developer and entertainment company Dalian Wanda Group Corp., rose to No. 2 from sixth last year, bringing his wealth to $10.3 billion, up from $7.1 billion a year earlier, the report said. Mr. Wang's Wanda Group acquired in May U.S. movie theater chain AMC Entertainment Holdings for $2.6 billion. A Wanda spokesman declined to comment. 

Mr. Hoogewerf said that although some wealth has been lost this year, there have also been significant gains. "Compare this list to just two years ago and you will see that China's wealth has increased significantly," he said, noting that six years ago China had 15 billionaires, compared with the 251 now.