A combination of unique tourism events and convenient shopping experiences has sparked a surge in international visitors to China during the May Day holiday, which runs from May 1 to 5 this year.

Wuhan, the capital city of central China's Hubei Province, witnesses a remarkable 70 percent year-on-year increase in inbound travel orders during the holiday.

The city on Thursday opened a new tourism event featuring 11 sightseeing ships and stunning light shows along the Yangtze River, the longest river in China, presenting a unique nighttime experience for tourists around the world.

In addition to scenic tours, shopping has also become a major highlight for international tourists.

At a bonded warehouse shop at Nanchang West Station, tourists can browse a wide selection of global products. Thanks to the efficient logistics network powered by the China-Europe freight train service, many international tourists can have their purchases shipped directly to their homes.

"The consumption experience in China is really really great. Not only its price and quality of goods are guaranteed, but also the price is very very reasonable, which makes my trip to China filled with lots of good memories," said Suwilanji, a tourist from Zambia.

China has also introduced a new policy recently that enables foreign visitors to claim departure tax refunds for purchases as low as 200 yuan (about 27.5 U.S. dollars) per day at the same store, significantly reducing the previous threshold of 500 yuan (68.8 U.S. dollars).

Driven by the departure tax refund policy, the number of inbound tourism orders for China's five-day May Day holiday period has surged to 173 percent year on year, according to Trip.com Group, a leading online travel agency in China.

Moreover, experts believe that China's inbound tourism market still holds vast growth potential compared with developed countries and world-renowned tourist destinations.

"Our inbound tourism market has significant growth potential. Revenue from inbound tourism accounts for about 2 percent of the GDP of Italy and France, and they are developed countries and world-famous tourist destinations. In Japan, the figure is around 1.3 percent. However, in China, inbound tourism revenue accounts for about 0.5 percent of GDP. According to international research institutions, including Morgan Stanley, China's inbound tourism market is expected to grow by 4 to 8 times over the next decade," said Wang Xiaoyu, a researcher at Tourism Research Center under Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.