More and more Chinese spend their well deserved vacation in Germany and the volume of tourism between China and Germany has risen considerably.

Overnight stays by visitors from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong special administrative region (SAR) to Germany increased 22 percent between January and October 2011.

In 2010, the number of overnight stays from the Chinese mainland and Hong Kong SAR had surpassed 1 million for the first time, an increase of 33.3 percent from 2009.

China is Germany's main economic partner in Asia, while Germany is China's most important European trading partner.

The number of overnight stays by Chinese visitors had risen an average of 9.7 percent annually between 2001 and 2010.

During 2011, China became Germany's second most important overseas market after the United States.

This would mean China is ahead of Japan as the largest market in Asia for tourism to Germany.

Visitors from China are particularly interested in the "Magic Cities" of the country, which include Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne that account for almost half of overnight stays.

Frankfurt is by far the most popular destination for Chinese visitors.

Germany's financial hub recorded nearly 130,000 overnight stays from China in 2010.

The "Magic Cities" and their surrounding areas offer over 2, 000 years of history, fascinating architecture, landmark sights, diverse cultural attractions and trendy shopping areas.

In 2010, overnight stays by Chinese visitors to Germany were up by almost 90 percent compared to 2001.

The German National Tourist Board intends to increase those numbers.

"Last year, for example, our sales and marketing activities specifically focused on promoting Germany as a cultural destination with excellent value for money," says the board's chief executive officer, Petra Hedorfer.

German brand-name products and shopping experiences remain popular. Financial service providers registered an increase of almost 50 percent in the amount spent by Chinese shoppers in Germany between January and November 2011.

Moreover, Chinese visitors accounted for the lion's share (26 percent) of tax-free retail sales last year, spending 243.4 million euros ($311.6 million).

The most popular purchases were watches, jewellery and clothing.