XINING, Jan. 26 (Xinhua) -- Northwest China's plateau province Qinghai received over 34.8 million tourists from home and abroad in 2017, a growth of over 21 percent from the previous year.

Qinghai Provincial Commission of Tourism Development said the province had tourism income of more than 38 billion yuan (5.9 billion U.S. dollars), up by 23 percent year on year.

The province, located on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, usually sees less tourists in winter and spring due to the cold weather. However, it has been promoting winter and spring tourism, and the tourist arrivals in the two seasons have recorded an average annual growth of over 20 percent during the past five years.

However, the province still has a large potential for developing inbound tourism. Among all the tourist arrivals in 2017, only 70,247 were overseas tourists, a growth of 0.2 percent.

Qinghai boasts a broad nature reserve including pastures, snow mountains and Gobi desert. Qinghai Lake, the largest inland saltwater lake in China, is a major tourist attraction. The province also has a number of Tibetan-inhabited areas, attracting tourists with their ethnic culture.