Xinjiang sees tourism boom during annual Corban festival

URUMQI -- Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region received over six million tourists during Eid al-Adha, known in China as Corban Festival, one of Islam's most important holidays.

Corban Festival is the feast of sacrifice when people slay livestock to share with their family, or visit relatives and friends to send best wishes.

Tourists spent 8.4 billion yuan (about $1.5 billion) during the five-day holiday from Sept 1 to 5 in Xinjiang, the Xinjiang tourism commission said Wednesday.

The figure is a giant leap from last year, as the Corban festival only lasted for three days last year, the commission said.

Close to 20,000 people visited the Urumqi bazaar on Sept 1. Kanas Lake in the Altay region hosted a record 48,250 people on Sept 3.

During the festival, Russia overtook Taiwan to become the top tourist destination for overseas outbound travellers from Xinjiang.

Xinjiang has a total population of 23 million and many tourist sites.