Beijing receives 3.61 million tourists during "golden week"

The Chinese capital of Beijing received 3.61 million tourists during the "golden week" May Day holiday, with the total tourist income reaching 2.5 billion yuan (305 million US dollars), the city government said Friday.

A total of 1.33 million tourists from other cities consumed 1.94 billion yuan (237 million US dollars) in Beijing, down 32 percent and 40 percent respectively over 2002.

However, 2.28 million Beijing residents spending the holiday near home consumed 560 million yuan (68 million US dollars), up 23percent and 131 percent over 2002, according to the leading work team of holiday tourism of Beijing.

Most Beijingers chose to drive private cars to the suburbs, which was the main feature of this May Day holiday, said an official of the team.

China suspended the May golden week last year due to the outbreak of SARS.

Source: Xinhua