Parks and recreation centers in Beijing played host to 1.98 million visitors during the weeklong Spring Festival period, which ended Wednesday, up by 5 percent from the same period last year.

Beijing residents accounted for 1.13 million of the visitors, roughly the same as that of last year, while visitors from other parts of China surged by 11.8 percent to 850,000, the municipal government said Thursday.

Holiday activities in Beijing included temple fairs, celebrations in parks, performances and skiing.

A sample survey showed 98 percent of visitors felt satisfied. The city received 22 customer complaints against travel agencies, hotels and scenic spots. All the disputes were settled, said an official in charge of the municipal tourism industry.

A record 28,000 Beijing residents spent their holidays in places like Japan, Southeast Asia, Germany, India, Hong Kong and Macao.

(Xinhua News Agency January 30, 2004)