With the Shanghai World Expo set to close at the end of the month, the Chinese tourism industry is looking to develop something new to attract foreign tourists and right now the two biggest candidates are the Silk Road and the Three Gorges area.

China's National Tourism Administration Delegation to the United States announced that China plans to push the Silk Road and Three Gorges as the "leading actors" for attracting overseas tourists in the future on Oct. 20 in Los Angeles.

The China's National Tourism Administration held a promotion fair about the two scenic spots on Oct. 18, and more than 150 people from all walks of life in L.A. were invited to the fair. Wu Wenxue, the head of China's Delegation, introduced the new outlook on China's tourism development and especially focused on situations of the Silk Road and the Three Gorges.

Currently, the United States has already become one of the largest providers of foreign tourists to China. In the first eight months of this year, there has been a 17 percent year-on-year increase seem among American tourists visiting the Chinese mainland, which has been mostly due to the promotion activities of Shanghai World Expo.

Since the Shanghai World Expo is going to drop its curtain at the end of this month, China is planning to attract more U.S. tourists to visit the country and its rich tourism resources with the Silk Road and the Three Gorges as the main attraction.

In addition, apart from L.A., the China delegation is going to hold more tourism promotion fairs in other US cities, including San Francisco.