Xinhua reports that National Tourism Administration statistics show China has annually received an average of 2 million Japanese tourists since 2000, maintaining a two-digit growth rate.

In 2004, China had nearly 3 million Japanese tourists, and replaced the United States as the second largest destination for the Japanese tourists only after the Republic of Korea, according to a probe into the Japanese tourist market by the Liaoning provincial tourism bureau.

A survey from the Japanese Tourism Association showed that 82.1percent of the Japanese tourists show their interest in visiting historic and cultural sites, while 64.2 percent of them are interested in visiting China's natural landscapes.

The number of the Japanese tourists to China will continue to keep a two-digit growth in the coming five years, said Yu Mingyuan,an official in charge of the overseas market from the Liaoning provincial tourism bureau.