To Russia, with love

Among the top tourist destinations is Moscow State University.

Also, more Russian hotels and restaurants are enabling Chinese tourists to use UnionPay－China's only domestic banking-card industry network－and provide such Chinese-language materials as maps and newspapers, Russian media reports say.

Russia's currency has plunged nearly 50 percent against China's compared to its strongest period last year. This makes consumer products at least 30 percent cheaper, according to Ctrip.

Liu Dan went on a shopping spree during her eight-day trip to Russia in July.

The 40-year-old from Hunan province's capital, Changsha, bought beeswax, gold and chocolates in Russia.

"They were really cheap," she says.

Liu's trip was organized by China's national red tourism coordination office and the Hunan tourism bureau.

Russian tourism officials say most Chinese come to visit sites related to revolutionary history, especially in St Petersburg. Other draws include shopping, ballets and natural landscapes.

Over 40,000 Chinese may visit St Petersburg by the year's end, the Russian tourism industry union estimates.

Many Chinese feel particularly sentimental about the Soviet Union this year when the 70th anniversary of victory in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1937-45) is being celebrated, Yan says.