Romance and vitality at Suzhou festival

Suzhou Special: Romance and vitality at Suzhou festival

The Suzhou International Tourism Festival kicked off at Jinji Lake on April 27 and will continue for a month as the city presents its sightseeing attractions and charms to the world.

The festival includes a food fair, painting exhibitions, dragon boat contests, international photography exhibitions, tourism trade fairs and flotilla of colorful boats.

Now in its 15th year, the festival once again opened with its trademark flotilla that continues to attract both locals and tourists.

According to local officials, the private sector was encouraged to play a major role in the latest gala, with 24 boats sponsored by companies including Suzhou Jewelry and scenic spots such as Suzhou Amusement Land and Suzhou Gardens, as well as the cities of Shanghai, Nanjing, Wuhan and Taipei. The distinctive boats continued to cruise along Jinji Lake for about a week after the opening celebration.

Combining local culture with international elements, the opening ceremony demonstrated that Suzhou - which terms itself the "Oriental Water City" - is a tourist destination that has both classic romance and modern vitality.

For the first time, strategic partner Suzhou Bank is providing publicity at its bank outlets and convenient services for tourists.

The festival's main performance venue is set in Garden of Wind Square southwest of Jinji Lake with several smaller stages at scenic spots around the lake such as City Square, Lakeshore Boulevard and Moonlight Dock.

The festivities also included a bicycle race, and cultural promotion of Chinese movies and television, which drew an unprecedented number of citizens this year.

The Internet was also used more fully with a network marketing platform for Suzhou tourism put into use in March offering authoritative information to locals, tourists, travel industry professionals and the media.

The festival organizing committee was able to send real-time, first-hand information to enquirers using its official sites on Sina.com and the Tencent micro-blog.

City administrators said they are keenly aware that the festival is a significant stage to showcase Suzhou as a high-profile tourist city in China.

They said they put great efforts into preparation including long procedures in organization, design and advertising. They noted their hope that the annual festival fulfils its goal of promoting Suzhou tourism, and enhancing the influence and reputation of the city.

City departments also took the opportunity to survey and analyze whether the festival and related travel services satisfied tourist demands, with the results to be used in promoting more tourism projects.

zhuanti@chinadaily.com.cn