Thousands of people attended a Buddhist ceremony hosted by the China Buddhist Society in Sizu Temple, Huangmei county, in central China’s Hubei province on Oct 30.

Dignitaries at the ceremony included Chuanyin Zhanglao, an elder of a Buddhist monastery, and other honored monks.

On the same day, the Huanggang Dabie Mountain Tourism Festival opened with a procession led by participants at the Buddhist ceremony.

Situated at the juncture of Hubei, Jiangxi and Anhui provinces, Huangmei county is the home of Huangmei opera and Huangmei embroidery – each part of the China’s first national intangible cultural heritage lists.

The Buddhism Zen culture features a separate flag in Huangmei, because two of six ancestor courts of Zen, and Sizu Temple and Wuzu Temple, were located in Huangmei.

Huangmei county has been promoting Zen culture in eastern Hubei in recent years. The local government has proposed new efforts to promote tourism in Huangmei the Wuzu Temple tourist area. The local government has repaired and renovated Sizu Temple, Wuzu Temple, Laozu Temple and Miaole Temple.

At a promotional seminar for Huangmei Zen culture tourism on Oc. 30 in Huangmei, six contracts were representing a total investment exceeding 3 billion yuan.