A Guizhou province office has reported having more than 9.58 million visitors during the three-day Tomb-sweeping (Qingming) festival holiday, April 2-4, for a 30.8-percent increase over the same last year period, and bringing in 4.86 billion yuan ($750 million) in revenues, a growth of 32.25 percent.

Azalea scenic area near Bijie, Guizhou province, a 125-square-kilometer area where the plants were in full bloom, attracting tourists during the Qingming festival holiday. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The province's unusual scenery has become a real draw for tourists, especially people from overseas, for example a Korean photographer who remarked, "I was shocked by the Danxia landscape in Guizhou, which gives a kind of feeling that lingers."

In commenting on the tourist increase, one provincial tourism official said, "Some policies have provided incentives and contributed to the growth in Chinese tourists this recent holiday. For example, the waiving of highway tolls for passenger cars which increased the number of individual travelers."