Ruzhou’s tourist attractions were selling discounted tickets to promote the country's first National Tourism Day on May 19, 2011.

Tourists could get the half-price tickets for some scenic spots in Ruzhou, Henan province, according to the Municipal Tourism Bureau.

Dai Bin, president of the China Tourism Academy, said National Tourism Day was established to encourage the general public to travel and to promote tourism in the country.

The China National Tourism Administration announced on April 12, 2011 that China's National Tourism Day will be held annually on May 19, starting this year. The date was chosen to commemorate the exact day when writer Xu Xiake began writing his masterpiece, “Travel Notes of Xu Xiake,” which charts his 30 years of travel throughout the country during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). Dozens of tourists in driving clubs set off on trips along Xu's route on Tuesday morning.