Chinese state news service says the country's gold production hit a new record last year with more than 340 tons. That's up more than 8 percent from the year before.

China is the world's top gold producer after overtaking South Africa in 2007.

The state-run Xinhua News Agency on Sunday cited the China Gold Association as saying last year's output was 340.88 tons, an increase of more than 26 tons from the year before.

The report says China's top gold-producing provinces last year were Shandong, Henan, Jiangxi, Yunnan and Fujian.

China, like many countries, views gold as a source of protection against financial risk.