The province of Shandong has made great achievements in the cultural and tourism sectors, successfully realizing the major goals set for the 13th Five-Year Plan period (2016-20), the Shandong provincial department of culture and tourism said on Dec 8.

Official statistics show that Shandong currently has four demonstration cities for the national public cultural service system, and eight demonstration projects for the national public cultural service system.

Shandong is home to 603 museums of various kinds and 1,711 cultural relics protected at or above the provincial level, the most of all cities in the country. There are also four UNESCO World Heritage sites and 226 key cultural relics under national-level protection in the province.

Shandong has 173 national-level intangible cultural heritage items, ranking second in the country.

There are more than 1,200 Class-A scenic spots in the province, the most in the country.

Shandong is home to eight all-for-one tourism demonstration zones, also the first in the country.

Visitors crowd the Zhanqiao Pier scenic spot in Qingdao, Shandong province on Oct 4, 2020. [Photo/VCG]

In 2019, the province received 940 million domestic and foreign tourists, and its total tourism revenue exceeded 1.1 trillion yuan ($168.52 billion), ranking second and fifth in China respectively.

During the 13th Five-Year Plan period, Shandong increased its spending to support the construction of a public cultural service system that covers both urban and rural areas.

There are presently 154 public libraries and 157 cultural centers in Shandong.

From 2015 to 2019, a total of 360 million yuan was allocated to support the construction of village-level cultural facilities in economically underdeveloped areas.

A night view of Xiushui Street at Zhuquan Village Tourist Resort, Yinan county, Linyi, Shandong province [Photo/VCG]

The "toilet revolution" at tourist sites has produced remarkable results. A total of 21,000 toilets at tourist sites have been built or reconstructed in the province.

Shandong has also spared no efforts to boost the integrated development of the cultural and tourism industries over the past five years.

The province has been cultivating tourism products and services such as performing arts, urban historical tours, and urban theme park tours, and facilitating nighttime tourism to drive high-quality and integrated development of the cultural and tourism sectors.

A night market in Jinan, capital of Shandong attracted many visitors on June 14, 2020. [Photo/VCG]