The city of Shenyang recently announced a new policy that allows overseas tourists to get a tax refund on their purchases here, making it the first the city in China's Northeast to offer the service, following in Beijing and Shanghai's steps, and considered to be a good way to attract more visitors while stimulating the economy.

The policy lets tourists from overseas, as well as Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan who stay on mainland for no more than 183 days to get a value added tax (VAT) refund of 11 percent on goods bought at designated stores, with a minimum purchase of 500 yuan ($80.6) at any store in a day.

To date, 13 stores in Shenyang have been designated as participating stores.