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"Now, with tourism, people earn more and work in better conditions," said Xu, 35, a short woman with a wide, easy smile.

China jumped to the No. 4 spot last year in the ranking of destinations for international tourism, overtaking Italy and trailing only France, Spain and the United States. It's a remarkable achievement for a nation that only 25 years ago began prying open its doors to foreign visitors after decades of isolationism.

But stronger growth lies ahead. China is banking on tourism as a key plank of its booming economy, with the Olympics in Beijing in 2008 and the World Expo in Shanghai in 2010 intended to fuel gains. By 2020, China will become the world's No. 1 international travel destination, the U.N.-linked World Tourism Organization predicts.

Gladys Portalatin, 56, and her husband Rafael, 60, spent three weeks in China this summer, eager to visit a Chinese family who had been their next-door neighbors in Boca Raton for years and moved back to Shanghai. The Portalatins spent a week with their friends and two weeks on a private tour.

"My highlight of the tour was going to the Great Wall and to the Terra-cotta Soldiers," said Portalatin, referring to the ancient wall that snakes a distance almost as long as a Miami-Los Angeles flight roundtrip and to the 6,000-plus life-size clay warriors unearthed from an imperial tomb more than 2,000 years old.

"It was more than I expected," she said. "Just to learn about all the history that is there that we don't have here … I'd definitely go back."

The Great Wall Tour See 2 of the most popular destinations in Beijing in just one day - the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. Included in your tour is an English speaking guide, all admission fees, lunch and pick up and drop off at your hotel in Beijing. You will also enjoy a stop at the world renown Bohua Jade Factory to indulge in a shopping spree fit for a King… or an Emperor!  » More BEIJING Sightseeing Tours Events & Attractions

Built in China

The soaring numbers of travelers from abroad -- more than 41 million last year alone, triple the tally a decade earlier -- is sparking a construction boom in China, especially for airports, roads and hotels.

Just in Shanghai, the number of hotel rooms mushroomed to roughly 71,000 last year, nearly as many as Miami-Dade and Broward counties combined.

And the room inventory in China's largest city keeps growing faster than South Florida's, especially in the luxury tier geared mainly to business travelers.

One example: Hong Kong-based Shangri-La Hotel and Resorts this month announced its first 147-room hotel in Miami by 2008. Yet it just added a 375-room, 36-floor glass tower to its gleaming Pudong hotel in Shanghai -- only seven years after opening that 596-room property.

U.S.-based hotel chains also are bullish. Marriott International Inc. now boasts 26 properties with 10,000-plus rooms in Hong Kong and China, and it plans to add six more with 2,000 more rooms by the end of 2007. That includes a luxury resort in Beijing in time for the Olympics.

Beijing Marriott Hotel West   The hotel is conveiently situated in the west side Hang Tian Bridge, with easy access to the financial district where most major banks and insurance companies are located. It is only 15 minutes away from Zhong Guan Cun Hi-tech area. The hotel is close to the DiaoYuTai State Guest House, Beijing Zoo, CCTV Tower, and offers convenient access to 3rd ring road. All guestrooms are spacious, tastefully decorated and furnished with modern facilities as a typical Marriott hotel. The marbled bathrooms are in very good condition. The hotel features a bar, a lounge and two full service restaurants, offering International, Chinese and Sarabol Korean cuisines. This luxurios property is a perfect place to stay whether you are on an important business trip or just a get-a-way with your friends and family. You will have an unforgetable stay for sure.

"It is just gangbusters in China. It's probably our fastest-growing market in the world," said Kess Connelly, manager of international public relations for Washington, D.C-based Marriott.

Even budget hotel chains are rolling out rooms fast. Super 8, part of New York-based Cendant Corp., entered China last year and plans more than 200 properties by 2008.

New jobs

Such speedy hotel growth means plenty of work for construction-related companies, including Fort Lauderdale-based designer EDSA, which operates a Beijing office.

EDSA now is busy on designs for two Hyatt projects and a Crowne Plaza in areas outside Shanghai and on China's tropical island of Hainan. It's also involved with a major resort south of Shanghai that features hotels, a water park, marina, golf course and housing -- to name just a few China ventures, said principal Joseph Lalli, who has visited China about 10 times this year.

Many new hotels are geared both to overseas visitors and local Chinese, as the ranks of China's middle and affluent classes swell, Lalli added.

"It's hard to conceive, but 10 years ago, most Chinese didn't have any vacation time," Lalli said. "Now, you've got more than 1 billion people who get sometimes three weeks vacation. And even if only 10 percent can afford to go on holiday, that's a lot."

Business for S. Florida

China's boom also is fueling business for South Florida travel firms, such as Fort Lauderdale's FlyChina Infotek Inc., which operates flychina.com. FlyChina started out in 1997 selling discount airline tickets to Chinese students in the United States, but it now serves a more diverse mix of travelers.

"A year ago, I'd say our clientele were about 70 percent Chinese and 30 percent not. Now, it's 60-40," said founder Qiang "Charlie" Li. "And probably in two years, it will be 50-50, because more flights are available. China's tourism bureau is raising awareness in the media, and China is more ready for Westerners."

Some examples of the growing ease of travel: more English speakers in China and more signs in English, more e-tickets for flights within China and more Internet booking for Chinese hotels, Li said.

Catering to foreigners

Easier travel fuels a growing stream of overseas travelers to mountain-rimmed river towns like Yangshuo outside Guilin, where Xu offers her tours in English.

Yangshuo restaurants are so attuned to foreigners that one cafe, Twin Peaks, even offers a wide choice of breakfasts: American, complete with ham, hash browns and coffee; Israeli, with vegetable salad; and Italian, with espresso. There's also Chinese, with steamed dumplings and green tea.

Xu marvels at the changes she's seen so far in her village, where some homes are being upgraded from adobe to brick. And she foresees many more. She already plays English-language CDs and DVDs for her months-old daughter to prepare her for the international travel business to come.