A lively and colorful folk activity in Lishui attracts enthusiastic onlookers during the Spring Festival holiday. [Photo/WeChat ID: wxlishui]

Lishui in Zhejiang province greeted a total of 2.03 million tourists during the Spring Festival holiday, representing a 13.2 percent increase compared with the previous year, according to the municipal bureau of culture, radio, television, tourism and sports.

This marked the third-highest growth rate in the province. To top it off, the comprehensive tourism revenue in the city hit 2.06 billion yuan ($282.68 million) during the break, up 25.86 percent year-on-year.

During the period, Lishui distributed the first batch of 25,200 New Year cultural and tourism shopping vouchers for 2025, worth nearly 1 million yuan. At the same time, a free parking policy for road-trip tourists was introduced, and the city hosted over 700 cultural activities and village Spring Festival galas, attracting visitors from all over.

Throughout the holiday, the city's 24 scenic spots at the 4A-level and above received a total of 1.15 million tourists, a 15.43 percent year-on-year increase, generating 156 million yuan in tourism revenue, up 39.86 percent. The top five most visited scenic spots were the Xiandu scenic area, Yunhe Rice Terraces, the Guyan Huaxiang scenic area, the "Window of She Culture" scenic area, and the Songyin scenic area.

With the easing and optimization of visa-free policies in China, Lishui launched various activities to attract international tourists such as free scenic spot visits. During the Spring Festival holiday, the Xiandu scenic area alone received 5,200 international tourists, a 14.04-percent year-on-year increase.

Most notably, the city's nature-based light sports and road trips were highly favored during the break.