Guilin hopes to cash in on tax rebate plan

The scenic city of Guilin, one of the most popular tourist destinations in China, should follow in Hainan province's footsteps in building a shopping mecca, national lawmakers have said.

In a motion submitted to the National People's Congress, which concluded its annual session in mid-March, legislators from the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, which administers Guilin, urged central departments to allow the city to launch a trial that gives overseas guests tax refunds on their purchases in the city.

"The number of foreign visitors to Guilin has been rising rapidly, but the increase in tourists has generated only a sluggish rise in revenues," said Chen Zhong, an NPC deputy and head of the Guilin committee of China Zhi Gong Dang, one of the nation's non-Communist parties.