China's tourism industry saw record business during the May Day holiday, also known as the golden week holiday.

Official statistics show that tourist sites across the country received 120 million people. They spent a total of 47 billion yuan, or almost six billion US dollars on their trips.

Shao Weiqi, the Chinese Minister of Tourism, attributes the good results to good tourism research and proper services at tourist sites.

"Not only in China, but also some foreign travel agencies were catching this golden opportunity to promote new sites and services to attract more visitors to China," Shao said. 

For the first time, tourism in China's less developed western region surpassed that of the eastern coastal area.

Local governments in the west have been promoting tourist sites related to China's revolutionary war in the early 20th century. In the past, some of them were not well protected and were ignored by the public.

As more people choose outings as part of their holiday recipe, related industries like retailing and dining are also benefiting. Figures show that the most popular commodities for this Mayday holiday were household appliances, automobiles, clothes and jewelry.

(CRI.com May 9, 2005)