China
is rich in tourist resources with its long history, many
scenic spots and historic sites, famous mountains and great
rivers, distinctive operas, music, dances and folklore,
and world-renowned Chinese cuisine.
In recent years, China has met the demands of tourists at
various levels by building, expanding and renovating a lot
of hotels and restaurants. At present, there are nearly
4,000 star-level hotels around the country. All large and
medium-sized cities and tourist sites have hotels with complete
facilities and excellent services for domestic and international
tourists.
In 2001, 89.01 million tourists entered
China, or an increase of 6.7 percent over the previous
year; the number of foreign tourists topped 11.23 million,
or an increase of 10.5 percent over that of the previous
year; and the foreign exchange earning from tourism reached
US $17.8 billion, or an increase of 9.6 percent over that
of the previous year. The income from domestic tourism
has grown by a large margin, coming to 352.2 billion yuan,
or an increase of 10.9 percent over that of the previous
year. Tourism income totaled 499.5 billion yuan, or an
increase of 10.5 percent over that of the previous year,
which remained higher than the overall growth speed of
the national economy. Tourism has become a rising industry
with the greatest vitality in China’s economic development,
as well as one of the new economic growth points.
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