As Los Angeles celebrates its fifth consecutive year of record-breaking tourism, officials can thank in part visitors from China who, despite their reputed disdain for lying on the beach, now make up the second-largest group of international travelers to this sun-drenched city.

In fact, China, which a decade ago was not a major player in Southern California tourism, last year sent nearly 800,000 people to visit the shops, museums and tourist attractions in and around America's second-largest city. And Chinese tourists often stay longer and spend more money than their counterparts from elsewhere in the world.

"There is a fascination in China for Los Angeles," said Ernest Wooden, president and CEO of the Los Angeles Tourism and Convention bureau. "It's easy to imagine that much of what the Chinese know about living in the United States, the slang, the hip hop, the technology, comes from the movies," Wooden said. "And LA has that pedigree."