Tourists swarm in Tibet as annual peach blossom festival opens
LHASA -- An annual peach blossom festival on Saturday opened in the city of Nyingchi, Southwest China's Tibet autonomous region, with the number of tourists surging from the previous year.
This year's festival features wild peach groves, performances and a fireworks display, among a series of activities, according to organizers.
Wangdu, mayor of Nyingchi, said at the opening ceremony that the festival, which has been held for 19 years, has become an important window for introducing the city to the world and a platform for promoting its opening up and economic development.
Kala Village, where the opening ceremony was held, received 8,000 to 10,000 tourists daily in the past several days, much higher than the number before the COVID-19 epidemic, said Zhang Rundong, deputy Party chief of Nyingchi's tourism development bureau.
"We expect the high number of tourists during the peach blossom season will continue until around April 15, as more and more tourists choose Tibet for sightseeing for the beautiful sceneries and distinctive ethnic culture," he added.
The total tourism revenue of the city was around 4 billion yuan ($612 million) last year. This year, the city expects the tourism revenue to double.