Shaanxi sees tourist boom during Spring Festival

Northwest China's Shaanxi province received 40.96 million visitors from all directions during the week-long Spring Festival holiday, up 35.3 percent from last year.

The local tourism sector earned approximately 20.71 billion yuan ($3.27 billion), a year-on-year increase of 40.5 percent.

The figures were announced by Meng Baomin, spokesman for the Shaanxi tourism development committee at a news conference held on Tuesday.

Celebrations themed on folk customs throughout the province added to the festive mood. Cities, such as Baoji, Yulin and Shangluo, were put under the spotlight when CCTV news aired the jubilant scenes over 20 times.

Activities organized in the capital city of Xi'an were among the most impressive and drew a slew of visitors to the city.

Attractions in Xi'an, led by Emperor Qinshihuang's Mausoleum Site Museum, the Xi'an City Wall Scenic Area and Huaqing Palace, saw robust growth in the number of visitors.

China's leading online travel agencies Ctrip.com and Qunaer.com included the ancient city of Xi'an on the list of the most popular cities in China, passing hot tourist cities like Chengdu and Hangzhou for the first time to rank third in terms of good reviews.

Trains to Xi'an handled 2.15 million passengers, 1.12 million traveling by high-speed trains. The Xi'an Railway Bureau also added 266 temporary trains to meet the high demand.

The burgeoning tourist market in Shaanxi province benefited from cooperation with surrounding provinces by sharing tourist resources and promoting each other's tourist routes, Meng said.

The number of overseas tourists entering Shaanxi province jumped to 27,000 during the Chinese New Year holiday.

Innovations in tourist planning and promotion yielded good results this year. Efforts need to be strengthened to further upgrade the quality of tourists' experiences, according to Feng Lijun, vice-governor of Shaanxi province.