Lion dance, a traditional Chinese folk art performance, is staged in the Haitan Ancient City in Pingtan, Fujian province during the 2017 Spring Festival. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Fujian province's island city, Pingtan enjoyed a huge leap in the number of tourists visiting during the Spring Festival holiday from Jan 27 to Feb 2, according to statistics from Pingtan tourism bureau.

The city received a total of 73,240 tourists during the seven-day festival, an increase of 103.7 percent over the same period last year. Total tourism income reached 36.6 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 208.2 percent.

Nearly all Pingtan's scenic spots were busy with visitors from across the country, and the city's national scenic spots received 26,700 tourists in total.

Another popular tourist attraction was the Spring Festival celebratory activities held in Beigang village, the art hub designated as Pingtan's first "creative cultural village".

"We heard that the homestays in Beigang village were going to hold various celebratory activities during the Spring Festival, so we made this special trip here to experience the featured local Spring Festival atmosphere," said Lin En, a tourist from Fujian's capital, Fuzhou.

Also popular was the folk art performances held in Haitan Ancient City, a famous scenic spot in the city.

Various folk art performances including drum playing, lion dances and face-changing, a popular spectacle originally from Sichuan Opera in which a performer changes masks at jaw-dropping speed, were staged in the ancient city, creating a strong Chinese New Year atmosphere for both local residents and tourists.

Zhu Jiahui, a local resident, was pleasantly surprised by the performances. "It is my first time returning to Pingtan in four years and I am amazed at the great changes that have taken place in the city. It feels so great to watch these spectacular performances in my hometown," said Zhu.

Additionally, Taiwan Aoqian Town, previously known as Pingtan-Taiwan Commodity Duty-free Market, saw a sharp increase in its business revenue by hosting a series of activities to attract both local residents and visitors from surrounding cities to shop there.

According to the related statistics, Taiwan Aoqian Town generated a total of 1.89 million yuan( $275,510) in revenue between Jan 29 and Feb 2.