Children ride bicycles outdoors. [Photo/WeChat account: ntwgx6]

Tourism was strong in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, during the eight-day Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holiday, which started on Sept 29 this year, local media reported.

The city received nearly 6.23 million tourists and generated nearly 6.15 billion yuan ($855 million) in tourism revenue over the long holiday break, up 102.2 percent and 116.3 percent year-on-year, respectively.

Various tourist attractions in the city offered a dazzling array of activities. For example, the Haohe River scenic area held a culture and tourism shopping festival from Sept 30 to Oct 2, which received more than 100,000 visitors, and Langshan scenic area received over 200,000 tourists over the break with cruise boats, Yueju Opera, and vegetarian noodles.

Suburb tours were popular among Nantong residents. All 14 provincial-level tourism villages in the city received more than 500,000 tourists during the eight-day break. Mid-Autumn Festival-themed activities in Bencha Ancient Town were participated in by nearly 200,000 people, the intangible cultural heritage-themed Changle town greeted more than 30,000 tourists, and the recreational vehicle campground on Kaisha Island received over 20,000 campers.

Cultural facilities in the city also provided various exhibitions and experiential activities for local students. The Nantong Library organized a lecture on calligraphy and an exhibition on ancient military books in China, while children's dramas were staged at the Nantong Grand Theater.