Beijing (CNS) -- Beijing received 2.58 million tourists during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday and earned 970 million yuan in revenues. This was a 1.4% increase in tourists and a 17% increase in revenues from last year, according to statistics released by the Beijing Tourism Administration (BTA), Monday.
Compared to previous years, the number of tourists from other provinces has grown dramatically by 17.9% to 660,000. This contributed to a 27.3% increase in consumption, totaling 680 million, or 1,034 yuan per person.
The constant overcast and rainy weather did affect municipal recreational tourism, though. The 25 most famous scenic spots recorded 1.11 million visitors in the three days, 12.2% less than last year. The Forbidden City received 117,500 tourists, 6% less than the same period last year. The Great Wall at Badaling had 73,000, which was 2.4% less than last year. And the Summer Palace saw 84,000 tourists, which was a 14.8% drop.
Most parks organized special activities for the Mid-Autumn Festival, such as an orchid exhibition in Zhongshan Park, the Global Festival at the World Parks, the Mid-Autumn Blessing Event in Tanzhe Temple, and a garden party at Qinglong Watertop Paradise.
In this season of osmanthus blossoms, the royal Summer Palace displayed 19 breeds of over 500 osmanthus plants, many of which are precious imperial breeds.
At Beihai Park, residents served themselves tea under the milky full moon, exploring the meaning of the festival to the fullest.
