HILTON Worldwide announced today that it will open its first Hilton Garden Inn hotels in China next year.

These are set to include one in Lijiang in Yunnan Province.

This is the latest move the global hospitality giant to further tap into the country's upscale travel market.

The fifth brand introduced by Hilton in the country, Hilton Garden Inn is positioned as a four-star brand whose closest competitors include Holiday Inn, Aloft and Courtyard.

"China is Hilton's most important market outside the United States and we've seen huge potential for growth, particularly in the country's upscale hotel market," said Lee Wee-Hau, senior vice president of development for Hilton's China operation.

"We've already got a confirmed pipeline of five Garden Inn hotels and two will be opening as early as next year."

Under the company's plan, the Garden Inn brand will be introduced not only in gateway cities, but provincial capitals and smaller cities as well.

Entering the China market in 1988, Hilton currently has an operating portfolio of 34 hotels in the country under four brands, with another 118 hotels in the pipeline.