Tourism revenue up 9.7 pct on lunar New Year's Day

BEIJING, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- China's tourism revenue rose on the first day of lunar Chinese New Year, the National Tourism Administration said on Friday.

Revenue reached 83.4 billion yuan (13 billion U.S. dollars) on Friday, up 9.7 percent from last year.

The number of tourists topped 71 million across the country, up 9.4 percent year on year.

Snow-themed tourism, folk customs and hot springs were more popular.

Around 4 million trips were expected to be made on Friday, according to the China Railway Corporation.