Visitors to this famed scenic city can get a 25-percent discount at hotels, tourist sites and teahouses from March 1 to May 31 with coupons from the city government, a municipal tourism official said on Friday.

Li Hong, head of the city's tourism committee, said coupons would be distributed through tourism promotion offices and travel agencies, post offices, banks and web portals. The coupon would be distributed in major Chinese cities, including Beijing and Shanghai.

Coupons would also be available on flights linking Hong Kong and Macao with Hangzhou, famous for its West Lake.

Tong Guili, vice mayor of Hangzhou, said 150 million yuan (about US$22 million) worth of coupons would be distributed.

The project is part of a larger municipal plan to boost consumption, which will see 600 million yuan of coupons issued in total. The city, the capital of Zhejiang Province, last month distributed 100 million yuan in coupons to low-income residents ahead of the Lunar New Year.

Similar travel coupons have been issued by east China's Jiangsu Province and south China's Guangdong Province this year.

Quake-hit Chengdu in the southwest and the eastern city of Nanjing last month gave low-income residents coupons for shopping and entertainment.

(Xinhua News Agency February 27, 2009)