East China's commercial hub Shanghai welcomed more than four million visitors during the weeklong National Day vacation - one of three tourism "golden weeks" in China - and earned 2.7 billion yuan (US$337.5 million) of tourism income.

The income was 9.25 percent higher than the same period last year, said the municipal vacation office on Saturday.

From Oct. 1 to 7, Shanghai's 86 major scenic spots were visited by 2.2 million people, a year-on-year growth of over 30 percent.

The 15 department stores and shopping malls on downtown Huaihai Road reported a turnover of 51 million yuan (US$6.4 million), up 15 percent, while the turnover of the Nanjing Road pedestrian mall reached 366 million yuan (US$45.8 million), up 18 percent on a year-on-year basis, the official said.

Many people drove to the metropolis using the recently-completed expressway network that links Shanghai with neighboring cities and provinces.

The visitor surge put a lot of pressure on the public transportation system in Shanghai, said the office.

The Shanghai Railway Administration said more than 700,000 people went through Shanghai's railway stations on Saturday. They expected railroad passenger volume to remain around 600,000 for the next two days.

National Day became the first weeklong holiday in 1999 when the State Council, the Chinese cabinet, promulgated a new regulation to prolong three festivals into seven-day holidays.

Chinese people who up till then had never been able to enjoy such long holidays reacted enthusiastically -- figures for this vacation point to 28 million domestic tourists and 14.1 billion yuan (US$1.76 billion) of tourism income.

The two other week-long holidays occur during Spring Festival, China's Lunar New Year, and around Labor Day on May 1.

(Xinhua News Agency October 8, 2006)