Abstract: This study is the first one among current studies investigating the near distance and suburban tourism in China, which resulted in the conceptual framework of Recreational Belt Around Metropolis, abbreviated thereafter as ReBAM.Taking Shanghai city, the largest metropolis of China, as a case, the study analyzes the location mechanism, formation process, land use patterns, accessibility, tourist behavior and spatial structure of ReBAM.The study reveals that travel cost to tourists and land price to investors determine simultaneously the location of ReBAM, where tourism planners find their favorite sites for city tourism development.Specifically, this study used Shanghai as a case to described the formation of ReBAM and examined the factors that affect such formation.These factors include demand on weekend recreation, investment preferences of developer, and regional development policy of local government.Three types of recreational land use were identified according to the entrance fee structures.These include 1) low-price section:public recreational facilities sanctioned by government, 2) medium-price section:joint ventures between government and private sector, and 3) high-price section:recreational facilities developed and operated by private sector.The results showed that the ReBAM exhibited three unique and elementary spatial features.They are 1) weak linkage network, 2) distance decay of travel behavior, and 3) activity density diffusion.The significance of the study’s findings goes beyond the proposal of ReBAM.It presents practical implications for tourism planning and development.Based on the principles of ReBAM, the author proposed a three ring-shaped spatial structure for tourism development in Beijing, the capital city of China:central, urban fringe and rural outskirts.