Nine more tourist attractions in China have been granted the 5A-level rating, the highest rating for Chinese scenic spots, according to the Ministry of Culture and Tourism.

The nine tourist attractions include well-known scenic spots such as the Tengwang Pavilion in east China's Jiangxi Province, which is ranked as one of the top three renowned towers along the Yangtze River, the Chibi Ancient Battlefield in central China's Hubei Province, which dates back to the Three Kingdoms Period (220-280), and the Xi'an City Wall and Stele Forest historic cultural site in northwest China's Shaanxi Province.

The 5A-level rating is the highest tourist attraction rating category in the country, meaning that the quality of the tourist attractions is the best compared with its peers in terms of safety, sanitation and transportation. As of last year, 250 tourist attractions in China, including the Palace Museum, the Temple of Heaven, the Summer Palace and other world-famous tourist attractions, had been granted the 5A-level rating.

Scenic spots that fail to maintain visitor experience are downgraded.

China's tourism industry has seen rapid development in recent years. During the 2018 National Day holiday, for example, the country's tourism industry raked in over 599 billion yuan (about 87 billion US dollars) in revenue from domestic tourists, up over 9 percent compared with the previous year.

(Cover: Front view of the Tengwang Pavilion in East China's Jiangxi Province. /VCG Photo)