The planned Xiongan New Area in Hebei province is expected to bring tourism opportunities to a large wetland area and to the province as a whole, according to industry insiders.

The Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council announced a decision on April 1 to set up the new area to boost coordinated development of Beijing, Tianjin and Hebei.

Over the following three days - the Tomb Sweeping Day holiday - Baiyangdian received 18,000 tourists, with tourism income reaching 16.5 million yuan ($2.4 million). Both figures represented a 260 percent increase compared with last year, according to the tourism administration of Anxin county, which is part of the new area. Baiyangdian is one of North China's largest freshwater wetlands.