The rapid climb of China's outbound tourism market has attracted an excellent deal of attention in recent years. However, the tutorial literature remains sparse during this area. Using a theoretical framework that synthesizes the key processes related to destination choice, the authors undertake a scientific review of the tutorial literature on outbound tourism from China. Stemming from this review, the article provides some direction for future inquiry on this important topic. The authors also suggest that a replacement model for travel planning could be developed, suggesting that traditional destination choice models may inadequately capture the nuances of destination choice in the Chinese context. Studies on Chinese outbound tourism began within the mid-1990s and gained momentum around 2010 as enquiry expanded to further understanding of this rapidly emerging market. Scholarly literature includes numerous journal articles, Therefore, once we planned this special issue, we wanted to think about how the phenomena is positioned within current knowledge.