Pingyao tourism booms in Spring Festival

The Ancient City of Pingyao received 430,100 visitors during this year's Spring Festival holiday from Feb 15 to 21, representing year-on-year growth of 37.54 percent.

It ranked third among the most popular Chinese tourist attractions during the period based on data from CCTV.com.

The number of tourists to the city reached its peak on Feb 19 and 20 as more than 90,000 tourists per day toured the site, which was the leading tourist attraction in Shanxi during the holiday.

Pingyao held a Pingyao Chinese New Year, a local branded cultural event in celebration of Spring Festival. This year's celebration, which lasts until March 3, has prepared more than 20 activities in seven themed events for visitors.

Local hotels and inns organized traditional experience activities like lantern riddles, paper-cutting for window decoration and dumpling making. Typical local folk custom shows such as stiltwalking and taiga (dancing in the air supported by thin sticks) allowed visitors to experience some Spring Festival traditions and further understand Pingyao's culture.

Tourists visit the Ancient City of Pingyao during the Spring Festival holiday, Feb 17. [Photo/Xinhua]