Hard to believe glowing figures were a mistake

THE GOVERNMENT OF NINGSHAN COUNTY in Northwest China's Shaanxi province said its tourism revenue was 1.4 billion yuan ($220 million) over the three-day May Day holiday from April 29 to May 1. But later admitted it had made a mistake and the figure was actually 140 million yuan. Xiaoxiang Morning News comments:

Ningshan's slip-of-the-pen error was exposed when Ankang city, where Ningshan, one of 11 counties is located, said its May Day holiday tourism revenue was 1.9 billion yuan.

Generally speaking, there is a strict procedure for government to release statistics, and the chance of enlarging the amount tenfold is slim. That's why the netizens have tended to believe the county government intentionally exaggerated its tourism revenue. Especially as the local governments in Liaoning province, Tianjin and the Inner Mongolia autonomous region were found to have fudged their gross domestic product data.