Hohhot in North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region witnessed a surge in tourist numbers during the Dragon Boat Festival, which fell on June 7 this year, according to local media reports.

Hohhot Railway Bureau announced that it handled 513,000 passengers during the three-day holiday, from June 7 to 9, a year-on-year increase of 4.8 percent.

Since the holiday overlapped with gaokao -- the national college entrance exam held in most provinces and regions on June 7 -- most of the passengers passing through Hohhot Railway headed to tourist attractions across the country.

To better the serve passengers, Hohhot Railway Bureau opened what it called a green channel for tour groups.

During the holiday, the total passenger traffic at Hohhot Baitai International Airport amounted to 111,000 people, a growth of 12.4 percent year-on-year.

According to airport officials, most of trips were made to the major cities including Beijing, Xi'an, Zhengzhou, Guangzhou, Chengdu and Hangzhou.