More than 10 million people visited Hebei province during the three-day May Day holiday, bringing in around 5.4 billion yuan, for a 26.9 percent year-on-year growth, according to provincial tourist administration statistics. There was also an increase of 22.9 percent in the number of tourists from last year, most of them – about 75 percent -- from neighboring areas such as Beijing and Tianjin.

Because of a toll-free highway policy, many visitors chose to come by car during the short holiday, with the provincial traffic administration reporting 4.14 million vehicles on its highways, up 38.6 percent year-on-year.