(XINHUA)

Large numbers of tourists stroll in a park in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, during the Spring Festival, which fell on February 3 this year.

Statistics from the National Tourism Administration of China show that during the seven-day Lunar New Year holiday, 153 million people traveled nationwide, an increase of 22.7 percent over the same period last year. Tourist spending reached 82.05 billion yuan ($12.43 billion), 27 percent more than last year.

Many Chinese now celebrate the Chinese New Year by traveling either at home or abroad.