Japan has become the most important source of tourism for
southwestern Chinese city of Chengdu, according to a local
source.
Information from the Chengdu tourism bureau revealed the capital
of the southwestern Sichuan province received 78,800 overseas
tourist arrivals last month, most of them Japanese. More than 25.5
million U.S. dollars was spent by the visitors.
The United States ranked second among the arrivals, followed by
the region of Taiwan, the Republic of Korea (ROK) and Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region.
Sichuan has many historical and cultural sites, alongside plenty
of superb natural scenery, including the Mount Qingcheng, the
Dujiangyan ancient irrigation system, Huanglong scenic spot, the
Sichuan giant panda sanctuaries, and the Mount Emei scenic area.
All the properties have been included on the UNESCO World Heritage
List.
The province hosted 600,000 Japanese tourists last year,
accounting for more than half of its total overseas tourist
arrivals. Last month, 62,000 Japanese tourists arrived.
Shen Wanshu, Sichuan Provincial Association of Tourism deputy
chief, predicted the number of Japanese arrivals to the province
would exceed 800,000 this year.
(CRIENGLISH.com December 29, 2007)