China's Shandong receives 70 million visits during National Day holiday

Nearly 70 million visits were made by tourists to eastern China's Shandong province during the weeklong National Day holiday, up 7.6 percent year on year, local authorities said Tuesday.

From Oct 1 to 7, the province, home to famous attractions such as Mount Tai and the Confucius Family Mansion, raked in 57.95 billion yuan (about $8.1 billion) from its booming tourism sector, according to the Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism.

During the holiday, the province also saw an increasing number of "red tourism" activities, namely visits to historical sites with a revolutionary legacy, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China.

Shandong's coastal cities, including Qingdao, Weihai and Yantai, are also popular tourist destinations.