Pingtan also built the "Round-the-Island" road to connect scenic points such as General Mountain, Tannan Bay, Longfengtou Beach and East Sea Fairyland. [Photo by Nian Wangshu / Provided to China Daily]

The total number of visitors to Pingtan in the past 10 months amounted to 1.14 million, a 36 percent increase compared with the same period last year. This is the first time the number of Pingtan's in-bound visitors exceeded one million, according to statistics from the county's tourism bureau.

The new record is thanks in part to a series of tourism promotion campaigns initiated by both provincial and local governments. Since the establishment of the Pingtan Comprehensive Pilot Zone, the area has taken great efforts to promote the island county's natural sceneries on TV commercials and newspapers. Thousands of visitors at home and abroad came to Pingtan to visit the beach, build sandcastles, taste gourmet food, and engage in other government-supported activities.

Pingtan also built the "Round-the-Island" road to connect scenic points such as General Mountain, Tannan Bay, Longfengtou Beach and East Sea Fairyland. The road significantly shortens the driving time between tourist sites.

According to the tourism bureau, most tourists prefer spending one or two days driving on the island and sightseeing. Autumn is the golden season in Pingtan.

In addition, total foreign tourists visiting Pingtan reached 61,000 in the first eight months this year, a 120 percent year-on-year increase.

Edited by Chen Zhilin and Michael Thai