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East China's Jiangsu Province hosted over 600,000 Japanese tourists last year, a year-on-year rise of 8 percent, the latest statistics show.

Jiangsu has become one of the major destinations for Japanese tourists in China, and Japan has become the leading source of overseas tourists to Jiangsu, according to information released at the on-going China-Japan Tourism Development Forum.

Statistics show that the number of Japanese tourists who come to see sites of historical interest and beautiful landscape make up the bulk of Japanese tourists flocking to Jiangsu each year. The cities of Nanjing, Suzhou and Yangzhou are most favored by Japanese tourists for their long history and beautiful natural scenery.

The number of Japanese on business trips has also increased rapidly in recent years.

Statistics show that more than 1,000 Japanese-funded firms are operational in the Yangtze River delta region, which covers Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces. One-third of these Japanese-financed firms are located in Wuxi City of Jiangsu Province.

Twenty Japanese firms among world top 500 corporations have invested in Wuxi City.

The China-Japan Tourism Development Forum is one of the major events of the "2006 China-Japan Tourism Exchange Year" and co-sponsored by the National Tourism Administration and the Jiangsu Provincial People's Government.

A 200-member delegation consisting of representatives from Japanese tourism circles and media groups attended the forum. The delegation will also visit major scenic sites in Nanjing, Suzhou and Yangzhou.

The forum began on Feb. 17 and is to end on Feb. 24