Beijing hosts 5.5m tourists in May Day holiday

Beijing hosted 5.5 million tourist arrivals in its 150 major scenic spots during the three-day Workers' Day holiday, said the capital's tourism authorities on Saturday.

The historical and cultural scenic areas as well as amusement-related venues received 3.2 million tourists, a slight increase compared with the same period last year, said the Beijing Municipal Tourism Development Commission.

Tourists to parks dropped 16.7 percent due to the windy and thunder weather during the holiday, the commission said.

Countryside tourism grew 10 percent with revenue of 180 million yuan (29 million U.S. dollars), it added.

Beijing is one of China's most popular tourist destinations. In 2013, it hosted 252 million tourist arrivals with total revenue of nearly 400 billion yuan.