The arrivals of overseas tourists in the renowned scenic city of Guilin, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, reached 315,800 in the first half of the year, up 64.9 percent year-on-year, according to the local tourism department.

The incomers registered during the first six months this year also outnumbered the total arrivals for the whole year 2003, which hit a record low of 310,000, due to the SARS impact.

In April, the tourists from Hong Kong and Macao grew by 54.2 percent on a yearly basis, and those from Malaysia soared by 347 percent. And the arrivals have since been keeping a growth momentum.

The augmentation is a result of local efforts in enhancing cooperation with the World Tourism Organization, increasing promotion of local landscapes abroad, and linking the city with overseas destinations with more flights.

New air routes linking Guilin with Bangkok, Thailand, and Osaka, Japan, were launched, together with the offering of chartered flights to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Chiang Mai, Thailand, and Singapore.

Normally, nearly 10 million people tour Guilin annually, 10 percent of whom are from overseas.

(Xinhua News Agency July 13, 2004)