China sees growth in number of tourist trips and spending in the first half

China recorded growth in the number of tourist trips and tourism spending in the first half of the year, according to latest figures unveiled by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism on Friday.

The ministry's data show that residents on the Chinese mainland made about 3.3 billion tourist visits to domestic scenic spots in the first half of the year and spent about 3.15 trillion yuan ($437 billion) during the period. The two numbers mark a year-on-year rise of 20.6 percent and 15.2 percent, respectively.

Among these domestic tourism visits, about 2.45 billion were made by residents living in urban areas, up 17.5 percent year-on-year, and 833 million by people living in the countryside, rising by 30.6 percent year-on-year.

Urban residents spent 2.6 trillion yuan on tourism expenses during the past six months, said the ministry, rising by 12.5 percent year-on-year. Tourists from the countryside spent 550 billion yuan during the same period, with the number rising by 30.1 percent year-on-year.