More than 1.16 million people braved the freezing cold to visit temple fairs and other scenic spots in the Chinese capital on the first day of the Dragon Year on Monday, according to the city's tourist authority.

The municipal tourist commission said on Tuesday that temple fairs, which combine folk art recreation activities and trading market, are one of the most popular places for both local people and tourists on the first day of the Spring Festival Holiday.

In addition, winter sports and hot spring travels also turned in a revenue of 3.05 million yuan (481,604 U.S. dollars) on Monday in Beijing.

The municipal commerce commission said 120 major shopping malls and marketplace in the city saw total sales of 540 million yuan on the first day of the Dragon Year, up 15.2 percent over the same period of last year.

Meanwhile, the catering businesses also witnessed a 20-percent year-on-year increase in revenue on Tuesday, which reached 19.26 million yuan.

On the eve of the Lunar New Year, Chinese President Hu Jintao surprised shoppers in one of Beijing's most bustling commercial center of Qianmen, south of the Tiananmen Square. Hu walked into a 270-year-old store famous for braised pork, praising its long-term high quality produce and honesty in doing business.

Hu then inspected the whole street aboard a trolley car, and urged officials of Beijing Municipality to develop the service industry in the city to meet the people's material and cultural needs.

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