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This study follows the evolution of Chinese outbound tourism literature over a 30-year period, from 1983 to 2012. A systematic review is undertaken of articles published in the three leading tourism journals to identify research trends. The review uses an evolutionary metaphor to chronicle the main contributions over three distinct stages: crawling out (1983–1992), scurrying about (1993–2002), and walking erect (2003–2012). The article concludes with a discussion of the key findings and suggestions for future research. Walking erect is appropriate and suggests this body of knowledge is still developing and has a considerable way to go. It also denotes that Chinese outbound tourism is likely to impact on Western research and will increasingly make its own contributions to generating new theory within the broader international tourism domain. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]