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The Mausoleum of Yu the Great in Shaoxing, Zhejiang province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Shaoxing in East China's Zhejiang province has seen a robust recovery in tourism as it received more than 917,400 tourists during the five-day May Day holiday that ended Wednesday, local authorities said.

The figure marks an 245-percent surge over the same period last year and is 109.64 percent of the pre-pandemic level in 2019, according to the Shaoxing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism.

"The number of visitors peaked on May 2 and May 3," said a staff member of the Lu Xun Native Place, former residence of Lu Xun, the most recognizable face of 20th century Chinese literature. "Over 20,000 people visited on the same day."

The Mausoleum of Yu the Great, another must-go travel destination in Shaoxing, renovated its facilities and told the legendary flood fighting hero's stories with an immersive 3D show.

Destinations famous for "red tourism" were also favored by travelers over the holiday. Red tourism, or a subset of tourism in which people visit sites with historical significance for communism in China, is booming in the country with the number of trips increasing tenfold to 1.41 billion from 2004 to 2019.

The Shaoxing government had expected and made full preparations for a rebound in the number of travelers during the holiday, as many people were unable to travel during the Lunar New Year holiday in February due to authorities asking people to refrain from traveling at that time.

Shaoxing's tourism rebound came as the COVID-19 situation continues to improve across China and nationwide mass vaccination drive gains steam.