Northwest China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region received 1.76 million domestic tourists during the Spring Festival holiday, up 16 percent year-on-year. 

The tourists spent 2 billion yuan ($314 million) during the week-long holiday ending Wednesday, up more than 28 percent from last year, according to the regional tourism development commission on Thursday. 

Rural tourism and winter sports were the top choices, the commission said. 

Urumqi International Airport handled 408,000 passengers during the period, up 18 percent. A total 2,994 flights departed from or arrived at the airport, up 8.5 percent. 

During the holiday, trains in Xinjiang carried nearly 910,000 passengers including 727,100 within the region. 

Xinjiang saw robust growth of 32.4 percent in the number of tourists in 2017, receiving 107 million. Tourists spent over 182 billion yuan in the region. 
As tourism is seen as a barometer of stability and harmony, Xinjiang's tourism performance "shows again that Xinjiang is a good place," said Shohrat Zakir, chairman of the Xinjiang regional government.