BEIJING, March 28 (Xinhua) -- Tourism performance, a new form of art performance offered at tourist sites to present local culture to tourists, is thriving in China, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism (MCT) said Thursday.

As of 2017, various tourism performances had been staged 85,753 times, drawing a total audience of 68.21 million, up 61 percent and 145 percent respectively from 2013, Zhou Jiucai, an official with the MCT, said at a press conference.

The performances earned 5.15 billion yuan (766 million U.S. dollars) in 2017, up 128 percent compared with 2013, Zhou said.

He added that the range of tourism performances in China needed to be widened and the performance quality enhanced.

The MCT issued a guideline on promoting tourism performance, the first of its kind, on March 14, calling for efforts to establish a booming and orderly market.