[Photo provided to China Daily]

Transportation improvements lured 376 million tourists in 2015.

They generated 351 billion yuan in revenue－96 billion yuan more than the previous year. Tourism has become Guizhou's pillar industry, accounting for 9.2 percent of its GDP last year.

The sector is expected to create over 500,000 jobs in Guizhou, pulling at least 1 million people out of poverty by 2020, Governor Sun Zhigang says.

He made the remark at the 2016 International Conference of Mountain Tourism and Outdoor Sports in Xingyi in Guizhou's Qianxinan Bouyei and Miao autonomous prefecture late last month.