Shanxi province generated 299.51 billion yuan ($43.82 billion) in the first half of 2018, representing year-on-year growth of 25.78 percent, according to a report released by the Shanxi Provincial Tourism Development Commission on July 27.

During the period, the province received 282,600 overseas overnight travellers, up 7.18 percent year on year, and earned $158.72 million in foreign exchange, representing a year-on-year growth of 9.31 percent. More than 320.38 million domestic tourists visited Shanxi, an increase of 25.33 percent compared with the same period in 2017, and contributed 298.44 billion yuan to tourism revenue, up 25.81 percent year-on-year.

H1 tourism in Shanxi had five features. More travelers chose high-speed railway transportation to tour the province with the number of tourists entering Shanxi by that method during the second quarter increasing 93.67 percent compared with the number during the first quarter.

The major tourists came from Henan, Hebei, Shaanxi, Shandong provinces, the Inner Mongolia autonomous region, Beijing and Tianjin. Post-1980 generation tourists, family tours and parent-child tours have been the majority of the Shanxi's tourism market.

More varieties of tourism services and products, especially holiday travel services, were offered to tourists. During the five traditional Chinese festival holidays in the first half of 2018, 66.50 million people visited Shanxi, a fifth of the domestic tourists arriving from January to June.

Traditional sightseeing at major attractions in Shanxi, especially national 5A tourist spots, is still visitors' first choice.