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In the early years of the People’s Republic of China, state tourism officials saw sightseeing as a form of public diplomacy, but noted also that they could earn as much from hosting just one Soviet tourist as they could from exporting a ton of steel. At the same time, the vast majority of visitors to China during the Mao years came from China’s diaspora, which officials referred to as “another province overseas” that could contribute to the economic and political foundations of the new nation. This talk will examine the challenges faced by China’s state tourism officials in promoting foreign and diaspora tourism as a form of public diplomacy and economic development from the founding of the PRC to the Cultural Revolution.

Gavin Healy is a center associate of the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan and has taught Chinese history at Columbia University and the State University of New York. He is the author of A Guide to Mao’s China: Showing the Nation to Foreign Guests (Cornell University Press, 2026). His work appears in 20th Century China, Modern China, and the Journal of Contemporary History.