The comparatively warmer regions in southern China attracted more tourists during the Spring Festival holidays, an occasion for reunions with family members and relatives.

Sources from the tourism bureau of Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, said the city hosted more than 5.35 million domestic and overseas tourists during the Spring Festival holidays from January 24 to January 30.

A total of 17,200 tourists were handled by local travel agencies in the city, up 29.31 percent from the last Spring Festival season, said the sources.

During the holidays, 5.2 million residents of Guangzhou also went out to visit friends, relatives or just seek pleasure, said the sources.

According to the same sources, the total earnings from tourism in the Spring Festival season was over 1.74 billion yuan (US$210 million).

In a related case, the island province of Hainan, also in south China, hosted 542,700 tourists during the seven-day holiday season, including 386,300 tourists for just an overnight stay, up 10.37 percent from last year, said local sources.

The total earnings from the tourism industry in the period was 592 million yuan (about US$71.33 million), up 7.25 percent from the figure of last year.

(Xinhua 02/01/2001)