Trends in China’s domestic tourism development at the turn of the century

China’s domestic tourism has developed quickly in the past 20 years. This article briefly reviews the scale of expansion in domestic tourism in China and summarizes three important factors contributing to that great change. In search of development trends, the article examines the main products of domestic tourism and government policy changes that influence tourism development. The conclusion is that China’s domestic tourism has shifted to the 3H (high input, high risk and high output) pattern. Besides intermediate‐long‐haul sightseeing and business tourism, domestic tourists frequently take medium‐short‐distance sightseeing trips and short‐distance weekend vacations, which forms ReBAM (Recreational belt around metropolis), a new tourist spatial pattern.