The government has decided to allocate another 700 million yuan (US$86.4 million) of special funds from the budget this year to support "red," or patriotic, tourism, the Beijing Daily quoted the National Development and Reform Commission as saying on Tuesday.

China began to promote "red tourism" early this year to commemorate the 70th anniversary of the Long March and to arouse patriotism among young people.

China's National Tourism Administration has named this year the "Year of Red Tourism" and has issued a list of "30 choice red tourism routes" and "100 classic red tourism sites", together with12 other departments.

The administration believed this kind of tourism has many benefits. First, it will help the public remember great historical figures and their contributions. Second, it will help the economically backward former revolutionary bases catch up in economic development.

To mark the 60th anniversary of the victory of the war of resistance against Japanese aggression and the world's Anti-Fascist War, the National Development and Reform Commission recently allocated a total of 232 million yuan for construction of12 "red tourism" scenic spots, which are all related to the war of resistance against Japanese aggression, the newspaper said.

(Xinhua News Agency August 10, 2005)