URUMQI -- The communication operators in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region will spend nearly 1.44 billion yuan (about $204 million) on building 4,010 5G base stations this year.

The technology will be first applied in the industrial parks and tourist sites across the region, according to the regional communications administration.

In 2019, Xinjiang's information and communication industry invested 126 million yuan in building 518 5G demonstration and commercial pilot stations. Urumqi, the regional capital, became one of the first 5G cities in China last October.

By the end of this year, the number of 5G base stations in Xinjiang will reach 4,528, including 2,212 in Urumqi.

Xinjiang has more than 20 million mobile Internet users, and over 69,600 5G package users by the end of February.