Culture, serving as a main factor in international travel, is believed to attract tourists, yet cultural distance could potentially deter the influx of tourists. This study aims to investigate the non-linear relation between cultural distance and inbound tourism flows to China, employing the panel data of 35 countries spanning from 2001 to 2018. This research uses the gravity model to verify the U-shape relation. Findings suggest that cultural distance may exert a positive impact on international tourism flows to China for those countries located on the right side of the U-shape curve. Conversely, for countries with cultural distance below 1.62 and lacking cultural connections with China, a negative effect on international tourism flows to China has been observed.