The city of Guilin, a picturesque place in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, on Wednesday promoted itself as a tourist attraction in Paris.

Guilin is one of the favorite destinations not just for Chinese tourists, but also for foreign travelers, said Chen Lihua, deputy mayor of Guilin, at a presentation event here.

"Guilin is known for its unique picturesque landscapes, its wealth of natural resources, the variety of its cultural heritage, and its beautiful ecological environment," she added.

Guilin, which has two sites enlisted as the World Natural Heritage, remains for decades a key tourist destination in China. It also appeals to hikers, drivers and cyclists.

According to Xue Guifeng, director of the Paris office of China 's National Tourism Office, the presentation about Guilin aims to enable more and more French travel agents and tourists to better understand the destination in terms of landscape and culture. She believed it would help to lure more French travelers to visit Guilin and enjoy its wonderful scenery.

Data from the Guilin Tourism Bureau showed that the city attracted 22.46 million tourists in 2010, including 1.48 million foreigners -- about 70,000 of them French.