South China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region played host to nearly 640,000 tourists from overseas in the first ten months of this year, an all-time high.

This figure represents a 54 percent rise over the same 1998 period, and tourism earnings in foreign currency reached 174 million US dollars, up 43 percent.

Guangxi is abundant in tourism resources, including many mountains and rivers and the folklore of ethnic minorities. Picturesque Lijiang River has been an especially popular spot attracting overseas tourists.

The local autonomous region government has issued a series of preferential policies to expand its tourist industry, and foreign investors have been encouraged to develop scenic resorts in Guangxi.

Meanwhile, statistics show, 15 million domestic tourists are also reported to have visited the region in the first 10 months this year, up 25 percent.