Chinese culture ranks as the leading attraction to tourists from overseas, said Hillary Nie, head of Market Insights for Google Greater China, at a seminar on Chinese inbound tourism on May 22.

The seminar was held by Google and China Tourism Academy (CTA) in Beijing.

"Compared with other countries, China has its own unique charm thanks to its history, tourist attractions, oriental features, best-offer commodities and food," Nie introduced.

Based on a 2017 report issued together by Google and global market research and consulting firm Ipsos, 56% of inbound tourists to China consider the country's long history as its unique and fundamental charm.

Mahjong, Chinese Zodiac, and Tai Chi were among the hottest words relating to Chinese culture that had been searched for on Google by foreigners over the past four years.

"Common Chinese dishes available in Chinatowns made up most of the Chinese food being searched for online," Nie said, adding that foreigners also showed a growing interest in hot pot.

Overseas tourists also enjoy watching videos about Chinese food, as indicated by statistics from YouTube. It's clear from comments on such videos that they are both amazed and enticed by the variety of street-side snacks in China.

So far, China has become the world's largest outbound tourism market and the fourth largest tourism destination, said Li Chuangxin, associate researcher with the CTA.

Based on recent observation, he said, China will see more diverse sources of tourists, especially from Belt and Road countries.