Hohhot city takes on a different character, as the sun goes down. [Photo [provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

Hohhot -- capital city of North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region -- was selected as one of 60 national pilot cities for cultural and tourism consumption, on a list released by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Finance on Dec 29, according to local media reports.

In recent years, Hohhot has made every effort -- from both ends of the supply and demand chain -- to stimulate spending in the field. Officials said the municipal government has improved the city's cultural and tourism facilities and expanded the number and range of products.

Last year, the city received 48.23 million tourists and recorded total tourism income of 104.04 billion yuan ($15.90 billion), an increase of 10.3 percent and 12.6 percent, respectively year-on-year.

Currently, the city boasts 44 national A-level tourist attractions, one autonomous region-level tourist resort and one autonomous region-level, all-for-one tourism demonstration area.

It has also held a series of large festivals, such as the Zhaojun Culture Festival.