7,000-strong tour group breaks record in US trip

A record-breaking group of nearly 7,000 Chinese visitors began gathering in California this week, an example of what an analyst called "Chinese travelers' growing interest in the United States as a tourist destination despite political differences".

Perfect (China) Co, a direct-marketing company that sells health food and household and beauty products, is bringing the huge group to Orange County for an eight-day trip, setting a new record as the largest single group of Chinese ever to visit the United States.

Li Haidong, a US studies researcher at China Foreign Affairs University in Beijing, said the size of the delegation is indicative of how interested Chinese travelers are in the US despite the fact that the two governments constantly seem at odds on bilateral and global issues.