More than 710 million travel in China on National Day trips

BEIJING - China witnessed more than 710 million tourist trips during the eight-day National Day and Mid-Autumn holidays, ringing up to about RMB 590 billion (US$88.68 billion) in tourism income, according to the National Tourism Administration. 

The State newsagency, Xinhua, reported that the National Day holiday, one of China's two Golden Weeks, saw a surge in tourist revenue along with passenger flows. This year the holiday was extended by one day as the Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as the Moon Cake Festival, fell on October4.

Most travellers chose to indulge in food, cultural and rural tourism this year.

Provinces with major scenic spots saw rising numbers of tourists, with southwestern Guizhou hosting more than 46 million tourists who spent RMB 30.5 billion during the eight days, and Inner Mongolia in north China, where 106.2 million tourists spent RMB 8.3 billion, said CNTA.  www.webershandwick.cn (ATI).