Quang Ninh welcomes record number of visitors during Tet hinh anh 1People walk up the stairs to pagodas on Yen Tu Mountain in Quang Ninh province (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi (VNA) – More than 1 million tourists visited the northern province of Quang Ninh between February 2 and 14, a record number of visitors during a Lunar New Year holiday (Tet).

Notably, about 600,000 people toured local places of worship, according to the provincial People’s Committee.

A sudden increase was recorded in the number of visitors to the complex of Yen Tu monuments and landscapes when it attracted about 200,000 people from February 5 to 14, up 20 percent from the same period last year. Entrance fee revenue approximated 6 billion VND (258,000 USD), up 22 percent year on year.

Pham Van Duoc, deputy head of the management board for the Yen Tu relic site and national forest, attributed the sharp rise to the opening of a road from the Tay Yen Tu (Western Yen Tu) spiritual-ecological tourist area in neighbouring Bac Giang province to the complex in Quang Ninh.

That helped encourage 30,000 visitors to Bac Giang to continue their trip in Quang Ninh, he noted.

Aside from many beautiful landscapes like the World Natural Heritage of Ha Long Bay, Quang Ninh is also home to various spiritual tourist destinations.

The Yen Tu relic site features many pagodas on Yen Tu Mountain. Here, King-Monk Tran Nhan Tong (1258-1308), the third king of the Tran dynasty, founded the Truc Lam Zen Buddhist sect.

The site was named a special national relic site in 2012.-VNA
VNA