2016 Sichuan Int'l Cultural Tourism Festival opens in Liangshan
The 2016 Sichuan International Cultural Tourism Festival opens in Xichang, capital of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Wednesday. [Photo provided to china.org.cn]
The 2016 Sichuan International Cultural Tourism Festival opens in Xichang, capital of Liangshan Yi Autonomous Prefecture Wednesday.
The event, themed “Colorful Liangshan in Beautiful Sichuan: A Paradise for Vacation,”and sponsored by the People’s Government of Liangshan, Sichuan Provincial Information Office and Sichuan Tourism Board, is aimed to facilitate the deep integration between tourism and culture, improve Sichuan’s image, and foster Liangshan as a famous tourism brand. It is also intended to help Sichuan to better participate in the national Belt and Road initiative and comprehensively pursue its goal of making the tourism industry one of its economic pillars and becoming an international tourism destination.
The six-day event consists of a wide range of activities, including sightseeing, experiencing characteristic folk customs, playing sports, forums, and business negotiations.
Among the various activities, the opening ceremony, the exhibition of Sichuan’s tourism products, the art performance to greet the participants, the inspection of tourist routes in Liangshan and the celebrations of the torch festival are the centerpieces of the event. The event coincides with the traditional Torch Festival of Liangshan’s Yi ethnic group.
The art performance during the opening ceremony will feature folk singing and dancing of Liangshan to fully display the prefecture’s ethnic culture and folk customs. The celebrations of the torch festival is designed as an Oriental Carnival.
In addition to the main activities, there are eight major supporting activities and twenty minor ones. Among the major supporting activities are the Conference on the Development of Liangshan’s Region-based Tourism, the real-life-scene performance A Re Niu, and the Water-Worshipping Festival on Qionghai Lake.
Minor supporting activities include the “Passing through Mount Daliang”car race and self-driving tours, the traditional Yi ethnic-style Beauty Pageant and the 2016 Sichuan Liangshan Rural Tourism Festival.
Cultural activities have also been arranged for the public in Xichang. A series of Yi ethnic folk and sports activities and real-life-scene singing and dancing performances will be held in Puge and Butuo counties.
Started in 2003, the annual Sichuan International Cultural Tourism Festival has become one of the most influential tourism festivals both at home and abroad.
Liangshan, the host prefecture of the 2016 session, has the largest Yi ethnic community in China. It also has the most ethnic groups and the most ethnic minority population in Sichuan.
With over 160 scenic areas, distinct culture and physical location, Liangshan is a central area in the Greater Shangri-La International Ecotour Zone. Its diverse and unique tourism resources, both natural and cultural, have made it a major tourism destination in Sichuan and are going to fuel Sichuan’s tourism industry in the future.
The festival will further help Liangshan to become a growth pole of the tourism industry in the Panzhihua-Xichang area.
During the 12th Five-Year Plan period, the tourism revenue of Liangshan reached 75.36 billion yuan. In 2015 alone, tourism revenue was 25.17 billion yuan, an increase of 33.16 percent year on year; the number of domestic tourists it received was 37.29 million, a year-on-year increase of 17.82 percent. Ten more scenic areas received A ratings to bring the total number of 4A-rated scenic areas in Liangshan to five and A-rated scenic areas to 16. The Qionghai Wetland has become a national tourism and vacation resort and the Lugu Lake a provincial tourism and vacation resort. Xichang, Mianning, Dechang and Ningnan were designated as provincial demonstrative counties for rural tourism.
