Centuries-old history, fascinating traditional culture, fast economic growth and urban construction, and being the host of the 2008 Olympic Games all add to the appeal of Beijing that is attracting an increasing number of international tourists.

Beijing hosted 2.477 million international tourists in the first eight months this year, a rise of 6.6 percent year on year, according to Beijing Municipal Tourism Administration.

Beijing received 363,000 international tourists in August alone, 3.7 percent more than that for last year's same month.

Asian countries, and China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan are leading sources of overseas tourists flocking to Beijing in the January-August period. Tourists from Asian countries and China's Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan totaled 1.225 million in the eight-month period, accounting for 49.5 percent of the total.

Beijing hosted 647,000 tourists from Europe in the eight-month period, a rise of 13.2 percent year on year. American tourists totaled 421,000, up 15 percent year on year. Tourists from Oceania and Africa rose by 28.1 percent and 54.3 percent year on year respectively to reach 85,000 and 20,000 in the eight-month period.

China hosted 21.17 million international tourists in the January-July period, up 23.15 percent year on year.

Source: Xinhua