Visitors enjoy flowers during a city forest flower exhibition in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)
SHANGHAI, April 5 (Xinhua) -- With Spring slowly arriving and flowers blossoming, travel destinations in China are witnessing booming visitors.
Zhou Hongmei, 64, and her friends are traveling by bus across China's eastern provinces to see the beautiful natural sceneries.
"I'm so excited as these destinations are full of blossoming flowers and I just couldn't stop taking pictures," she said.
During the Tomb Sweeping Day that falls on April 5 this year, Zhou will arrive in Shanghai where cherry and peach blossoms are in full bloom.
While Zhou is looking forward to her next destination, citizens in Shanghai have already started their tours in the city. Public gardens, university campuses, commercial centers and some walking paths are decorated with cherry blossoms.
Visitors enjoy flowers during a city forest flower exhibition in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)
According to the Shanghai tourism information center, tours in the Yangtze River Delta region are becoming more and more popular, as people can view cherry blossoms, cole flowers, peach blossoms, peonies and tulips.
Other parts of China such as southwest China's Yunnan Province and south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region and the central provinces of Hunan and Hubei are also popular destinations for flower viewing tours.
According to Ctrip, a leading online travel agency, Chinese will make over 110 million domestic trips during the three-day Tomb Sweeping Day holiday.
Ctrip said visitors from over 500 cities from China and abroad had booked tours on the platform for the holiday.
Ctrip also estimated that about 150 million domestic trips would be made during the four-day May Day holiday, with notable growth in domestic and regional trips.
Visitors enjoy flowers during a city forest flower exhibition in Shanghai, east China. (Xinhua/Chen Fei)
"The biggest driving factor is that the country is becoming more and more beautiful, both in cities and the countryside. As China seeks green development, people will find sceneries everywhere," said Lou Jiajun, a professor with East China Normal University.
China will also push forward supply-side upgrade of the tourism sector and will further reduce the admission fees of national scenic spots.
"With more scenic spots lowering admission fees, I might be able to travel all year long," Zhou said.
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