VLADIVOSTOK, March 6. /TASS/. As many as 1.5 mln tourists from China visited Russia in 2017, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui said on Tuesday, speaking at a board meeting of the Russian Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East in Vladivostok.

"The number of Chinese tourists in Russia reached 1.5 mln in 2017. This is the largest number among all countries for Russia. China, for its part, ranked second among the countries visited by Russian tourists," the Chinese envoy said.

He noted that 32 tourist routes were established between the Heilongjiang province and Russia’s Far East. Vladivostok is placed second among Russian cities for the number of Chinese tourists, with Moscow topping the list. This ranking was prompted by the introduction of the electronic visa that facilitated trips to the Primorsky Region for Chinese citizens.

The board meeting of the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East is being held in Vladivostok on Tuesday on the platform of the Far Eastern Federal University. It is focused on the results of development of the Far East during the past four years and plans for work of the ministry in 2018 and for the next six-year period. The board meeting is being attended by Deputy Prime Minister and Plenipotentiary Presidential Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District Yury Trutnev and the heads of research institutes, such as the Far East Investment and Export Agency, the Corporation of the Far Eastern Development and the Agency for Human Capital Development in the Far East, along with Far Eastern regional governors.