On October 14^th, the 12^th China Yangtze River Three Gorges International Tourism Festival was held in Yichang. Artists, businessmen, guests, friends as well as envoys to China, people form friendly association between China and other countries and foreign entrepreneurs in Yichang got together with people of Yichang at Xiling Gorge on Yangtze River. They experienced the unique charm of a magnificent Yangtze River and a poetic Yichang.

    Xu Zhengzhong, member of the standing committee of the Hubei party committee and the publicity minister of the provincial committee, announced the opening. Attendees included Han Xin’an, vice chairman and secretary of the party committee of China Musicians Association, Lu Kehua, vice mayor of Chongqing People’s Government, Liu Xiaoming, vice director of the standing committee of the Hubei People’s Congress, Zhang Wenbing, vice governor of Hubei People’s Government, and Guo Yuejin, vice chairman of Hubei CPPCC. Speeches were given by Man Hongwei, secretary of the party committee of the Office of International Exchange and Cooperation of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, and Wang Li, secretary of the party committee of Yichang city. Ma Zejiang, mayor and vice secretary of the party committee of Yichang, attended the opening ceremony.

    Man Hongwen express his congratulations on the holding of the tourism festival and the achievement of Yichang’s tourism after the pandemic. He said that the three gorges of the Yangtze River was a world renowned golden tourism route famous for it’s high mountains and deep gorges, lakes formed after the construction of the dam, modern hydro-electricity project and customs of people living along the gorge. In the past 12 years, Yangtze River Three Gorges International Tourism Festival was held by Chongqing municipality and Hubei province, playing an active role to the Yangtze River protection as well as to the economic and social development, the construction of ecological civilization and the improvement of people’s welfare of the Three Gorges region, all of which won the recognition of all social sectors. He hoped that attending guests would see the travel festival as a platform to start practical exchange, enhance regional cooperation, innovate interactive mode and share development opportunities. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism would continue to encourage the restoration and accelerated development of tourism in Hubei as well as to support the tourism development of Hubei and Chongqing. He believed that the care and attention of governments and party committees of every level would guarantee the realization of the goal to establish Yichang as a famous tourism city in the world and to create a world renowned tourism destination of a river in a country.

    On behalf of Yichang’s party committee, standing committee of the municipal people’s congress, city government, city’s CPPCC and more than 4 million people in Yichang, Wang Li extended his warm welcome to the arrival of guests. He said that the Yangtze River was a song being passed down for thousands of years and the Three Gorges was a painting of hundreds of kilometers. The tourism would make the tourism in the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River more well-known in the world. Yichang would be fully integrated into the development of Yangtze River economic belt; created an international golden tourism belt with neighbouring cities like Chongqing relying on ecological, industrial and cultural advantages; construct a famous city for world tourism and regional central city and build a dream city full of youth in the leading position of this era. He sincerely invited guests to come to Yibin for sight-seeing and investment. They could come to walk on roads with trees and plants in Binjiang district, travel through the rivers, mountains and gorges; observe important national facilities, experience the culture of ancient Chu kingdom in the hometown of the patriotic poet Yu Yuan, listen to the music played by the piano of the brand “Yangtze River” and admire the scenic beauty in the night on both sides of the river.

    After the opening ceremony, “Gorges in the Past Thousands of Years”, a performance of music, dance, poetry and painting, started accompanied by lasting bell ring. The theme of the performance was “admiring the beautiful Yangtze River, promote tourism in Yichang and create a city brand”. The show was composed of “seeing only the Yangtze River”, the starting chapter, “home among rivers and mountains”, the part 1, “Love in the Spring”, the part 2, and “dream in a new era” the part 3. Those chapters centered around Da Yu, Qu Yuan, Wang Zhaojun, Xia Minghan and other famous people in the history as well as revolutionary martyrs. The story was told by songs and dances of large scale to show the changes and to present thousands years of culture.

    The theme of the tourism festival was “amazing Yangtze River·poetic and picturesque Yichang”. In terms of arrangement, the organizing department combined the principles to hold the festival both in a whole year and in a concentrated period. There were more than 30 specific events of 7 classifications, including the opening ceremony, people-benefiting cultural performance, Hunan and Chongqing Rotating Presidency Conference on Tourism Cooperation of the Three Gorges of the Yangtze River, Three Gorges Dam Piano Concert, cultural tourism, introduction of trade and investment, promotion of cultural tourism as well as other promotions. Main events would be held from October 14^th to 21^st.

    Attendees of the opening ceremony included representatives of foreign ambassadors to China, friendly associations between China and the world, associations of China’s tourism spots, China Tourism Automobile And Cruise Association, relating departments of Chongqing, Hubei and other districts and counties as well as some heads of central and provincial public institutions, heads of central and provincial information departments, famous artists, representatives of well-known internet media nationwide, representatives of local media nationwide, representatives of important entrepreneurs in China, representatives of foreign enterprises in Yibin as well as representatives of mass and cadres in Yibin.