China Daily has launched “China Bound”, an English-language smart tourism platform offering itinerary planning, ticket booking, and intelligent travel assistance for international visitors to China.
China Bound, a smart tourism platform, has been officially launched by China Daily as an English-language digital service designed to support international travelers throughout their journeys in China.
China Bound is designed to provide one-stop digital support covering the full travel cycle, from early-stage inspiration and destination discovery to personalised itinerary planning, intelligent question-and-answer services, ticket booking and travel content sharing.
The platform operates through multiple digital channels, including a dedicated English-language website, mini-programs, intelligent systems and overseas social media platforms. The website follows a “main site and city sub-site” structure intended to organise destination content at both national and local levels.
The main site features four core sections: Travel Destinations, Itinerary Planning, Must-buy Items and Must-try Food. These sections present information on China’s landscapes, cultural heritage, contemporary urban life and local customs, with content structured for easy navigation.
The English-language website is optimised for both desktop and mobile devices, allowing users to access information seamlessly regardless of location. City and regional sub-sites expand the content offering through dedicated columns such as destination highlights, pre-trip knowledge, specialty cuisine, popular attractions, hotel accommodation and festive activities.
According to China Daily, the number of city and regional sub-sites will gradually increase, with the aim of covering a wider range of well-known and lesser-known destinations across the country.
In parallel with the website, China Bound is available through mini-programs on Alipay and WeChat. Supported by Ant Digital Technologies, the Alipay mini-program integrates multiple practical services, including real-time translation, transportation and hotel booking, ticketing services, currency exchange and online payment functions.
These mini-programs are designed to simplify travel-related processes for international visitors by enabling access to essential services within a single digital environment. Users can locate the Alipay mini-program by searching for “China Bound” within the application.
The platform also includes a dedicated intelligent assistant that supports multilingual interaction. Through conversational engagement, users can customise travel itineraries, check real-time traffic conditions and receive contextual explanations related to destinations, culture and local practices.
The intelligent assistant is positioned as a personalised digital guide, intended to accompany travelers before and during their trips by providing timely information and tailored recommendations.
The launch of China Bound takes place amid continued adjustments to China’s inbound tourism policies and growing interest among international travelers in visiting the country. China Daily stated that the platform will work in collaboration with national cultural and tourism institutions, cultural venues and related service providers.
Through these partnerships, the platform aims to deliver structured content, practical travel services and digital tools that support overseas visitors from their initial engagement with China through to on-the-ground travel experiences.