Beijing's Forbidden City in winter [Photo/VCG]

Beijing has been ranked as the number one city for tourists on the Chinese mainland, according to a list published by news platforms Jiemian.com and toutiao.com.

The list ranked fifty Chinese mainland cities based on the number of tourists, revenue generated, tourism ratio of the city’s economy, transport, and infrastructure.

Undoubtedly, the Chinese capital aced other cities on the list due to its cultural and natural attractions such as the Forbidden City and Tian'anmen Square.

Last year, around 284 million tourists flocked to Beijing, generating revenue of more than 500 billion yuan ($74.10 billion) – a whopping 20 percent of the city’s total GDP.

Chongqing Municipality came in second place on the list.

It saw 450 million tourist arrivals from both home and abroad last year. Hailed as "the capital of Chinese hot-pot", the mountainous city is also a pilgrimage site for foodies.

In third place was Shanghai which received 300 million tourists last year. The seaside city is also home to the first Disneyland resort on the Chinese mainland, providing an extra appeal to visitors.

Globally, the "Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report 2017" released by World Economic Forum revealed that China's travel and tourism competitiveness listed 15th with an overall score of 4.7 among the 136 countries and regions rising two positions compared with 2015.

Night view of Chongqing [Photo/VCG]