Chinese nationals paid more than 600,000 visits to Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan last year, a six-fold rise over 2008 when Taiwan opened its doors wider to Chinese tourists in the middle of the year, the Sun Moon Lake National Scenic Area Administration reported Wednesday. Last year's visitor number dwarfed the 93,790 Chinese nationals who visited the lake in 2008. Sun Moon Lake, along with Alishan in southern Taiwan's Chiayi County, has long been listed as the most favorite destination in Taiwan for Chinese tourists. The administration also said Wednesday that the restaurant 'Thao Culture Park' was chosen as Sun Moon Lake's most popular among the Chinese visitors. The Thao tribal people, who have traditionally lived in the Sun Moon Lake area, have seen their numbers dwindle and it is now the smallest officially recognized indigenous tribe in Taiwan. Taiwan and China clinched agreements to boost tourism amid improved cross-Taiwan Strait relations one month after President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May 2008. 