Cleaner Guangzhou Attracts More Tourists

Guangzhou, this capital city of south China's economically-booming Guangdong Province has seen more tourists since Guangzhou improved its urban environment.

Official statistics show that the city received 33.86 million tourist arrivals in the first half of this year, almost ten percent more than the figure for last year.

The tourism industry's income exceeded 20.52 billion yuan (about 2.47 billion US dollars), 11.85 percent higher than last year's. Of this income, foreign currencies accounted for one third.

Guangzhou has been making great efforts to clean up its streets in recent years. A square and a concert hall have been put in place. Pedestrian malls have been built, and the quality of the air has been greatly improved. The banks of the Pearl River， which runs through the city， have also been cleaned up.

In addition to the environmental effort, the city's travel administration has devoted efforts to strengthening supervision of travel service quality, as the recent increase in the number of holidays has put a strain on local services.

People's Daily Online --- http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/