Tourism has always been a way of propaganda.
Look into what are sold as the most attractive places to visit in a country. See that those places always sell a narrative as to why they're important for the country and unique in the world.
The US tourism industry basically sells NYC, Disney, Las Vegas and LA. NYC's best-known landmark? The Statue of Liberty, selling a narrative of a country of industrious immigrants. Disney? It's basically 50% of children's cultural consumption all around the world. Las Vegas, LA? Consumption and media.
For the record, the CIA used to sponsor a lot of artists and musicians around the world in the 70s as a way of promoting art the idea of the US a place of cultural and technological refinement, much in the same way that the soviets pretty much gave away math and engineering university books of the highest caliber.
What does the Chinese cultural industry sell? The Wall of China, properties associated with imperial dynasties, and more recently industry fairs.