A camping site in Huzhou, East China's Zhejiang province. [Photo/hz66.com]

Huzhou in East China's Zhejiang province was ranked 28th nationwide in terms of attractiveness to visitors in 2021, according to a recent report.

The report, which was compiled by the China Association of Tourist Attractions and the OCT Innovation & Research Institute, evaluated more than 3,00 Chinese cities at prefecture level or above based on factors including number of national 3A scenic spots, per capita GDP, tourism revenue and visitor number.

The appraisal method adopted by the report has obtained an invention patent authorized by WIPO's Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), one of the most widely used metrics for measuring innovative activity.

Shanghai, which topped the list, was followed by Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Xi'an, Suzhou, Hangzhou and Wuhan.

Huzhou tourism sector has seen robust development in recent years.

Its counties of Anji, Changxing and Deqing are on the 2022 list of the top 100 counties (county-level cities) in China in terms of comprehensive tourism strength.

Anji has topped the list for the fourth year in a row, while Changxing and Deqing were ranked third and seventh respectively, said a report recently released by a Beijing-based consultancy.