A group of 20 tourists from Hong Kong arrive in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Feb 20. [Photo by Jiang Fenghui/China News Service]

A group of 20 tourists from Hong Kong arrived in Guilin, Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, on Feb 20, as the first inbound tour group to the city since the resumption of normal travel between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions.

The group is on a four-day trip in Guilin, and will experience the beauty of Guilin's charming scenery.

One of the visitors who traveled with her husband noted that this was her third time visiting Guilin, and yet she was still full of anticipation for this trip.

Wang Zixi, director of the Guilin bureau of culture, radio, film, television, and tourism, noted that Guilin has been devoting efforts to the construction of a world-class tourism city and has been upgrading its tourism products. Wang also expressed her hope that more visitors would visit Guilin.

As a famous tourism city, Guilin has been popular among domestic and overseas visitors. It has been reputed as the "backyard garden" of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.

Since 2018, the operation of the Hong Kong section of the Guangzhou-Hong Kong High-speed Railway has allowed passengers to travel between Guilin and Hong Kong in just three hours.

Guilin officials put forward that the city will promote the revival of the local cultural tourism industry, and resume direct flights between Guilin and overseas tourist sources as soon as possible.

In addition, the city will strive to take the lead in Guangxi by opening intercontinental passenger flights and resuming the operation of high-speed rails between Guilin and Hong Kong.