China and Russia are to promote "red tourism". [Photo/Agencies]

China and Russia are to jointly promote "red tourism" after signing a memorandum of understanding.

"Red tourism between China and Russia has grown from people-to-people exchanges to a national level, which will further strengthen the all-round partnership between the countries," said Luo Dihui, who is in charge of the project for the China National Tourism Administration.

According to Luo, "red tourism" in China is booming. "Numbers have climbed from 140 million in 2004 to 907 million in 2014, a quarter of all domestic travelers," Luo said.

"China is the strategic cooperation partner of Russia's tourism industry, more than a million Chinese tourists have traveled to Russia two years in a row," said Oleg Safonov, director-general of the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation.