The value-added of the transportation, post and telecommunications and tourism sectors reached 653.1 billion yuan (US$78.69 billion) in 2003, a year-on-year increase of 7.0 percent. The total volume of cargo transported was 5,715.2 billion ton-kilometres in 2003, a year-on-year increase of 13.1 percent. Ports throughout the country handled 3.3 billion tons of cargo, up 17.9 percent over the previous year. Total volume of passenger transportation was 1,379.5 billion person-kilometers, a decline of 2.3 percent as a result of the SARS outbreak (see Table 10).

Table 10: Volume Completed by Various Transportation Means, 2003

The business transactions of the postal and telecommunication services in 2003 totalled 728.2 billion yuan (US$87.73 billion), up 27.8 percent over the previous year. Of this total, postal services accounted for 54.3 billion yuan (US$6.54 billion), up 9.7 percent, and telecommunication services made up 673.9 billion yuan (US$81.19 billion), up 29.6 percent.

By the end of 2003, the total capacity of office exchanges reached 350 million gates, including 67.44 million new-installed exchanges. The year 2003 saw 49.08 million new telephone subscribers, bringing the total telephone subscribers to 263.305 million at the end of the year, including 171.292 million urban subscribers and 92.013 million rural subscribers. Mobile phone users numbered 268.69 million by the end of 2003, with 62.69 new mobile phone users. The total number of telephone subscribers and mobile phone users reached 532 million, an increase of 111.77 million as compared with the end of 2002. There were 42 telephones for every 100 people in China.

Tourism was greatly affected by the SARS outbreak. China received 91.66 million overseas tourists in 2003, a drop of 6.4 percent. Of all tourists visiting China, 11.40 million were foreigners, down by 15.2 percent; 80.26 million were compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, down by 5 percent. Of all the overseas tourists, 32.97 million stayed in China for at least one night, down by 10.4 percent. Foreign exchange from international tourism reached US$17.4 billion, a decline of 14.6 percent. A total of 20.22 million Chinese went abroad in 2003, up 21.8 percent. Of this total, 14.81 million were on private visits, up by 47.2 percent, and accounting for 73.2 percent of all out-going visitors. The year 2003 saw 870 million domestic tourists, down by 0.9 percent. Income from domestic tourism stood at 344.2 billion yuan (US$41.47 billion), down by 11.2 percent.

(China.org,cn March 1, 2004)