Xinghua city in East China's Jiangsu province thrived during its Spring Festival cultural and tourism market, with the holiday tourism sales experiencing strong growth.
During the city's Spring Festival lantern carnival from the first to the seventh day of the first month on the Chinese calendar, Xinghua received 171,000 visitors and generated 821,000 yuan ($112,361) in operating income.
Nighttime activity reached a peak, with an average of over 24,700 visitors per day. The high point was on the first day of Chinese New Year, with a hefty influx of 41,000 visitors.
Spectacular colored lanterns light up Lianxi Lake Park. [Photo/WeChat account: xinghuafabu]
This Spring Festival, the Lianxi Lake Carnival featured sales of Xinghua's special agricultural products, a display by the Xinghua Literature Academy and the integration of intangible cultural heritage and technology, proving a popular site for visitors to tour and take photos.
Visitors were wowed by the lanterns, dragon and flower drum dances, as well as the drone and folk performances at the carnival.
In the agricultural product exhibition and sales area, 21 local businesses brought nearly 200 types of products, with locally produced rice, drunken crabs and dairy products being highly popular.
During the Spring Festival holiday, trips on all city buses, urban-rural buses and town and village buses in Xinghua were free and specific tourist routes were put on to directly reach major tourist attractions.