Beijing to hold Grand Canal Culture Festival

The Beijing government will hold the Grand Canal Culture Festival from Nov 7 to 15, which will include various cultural activities and sporting events to promote high-quality development of the tourism industry in the city, officials said.

Wang Jiequn, deputy director of Beijing's publicity department, said at a news conference on Thursday that the Grand Canal Cultural Belt involves areas in seven districts — Changping, Haidian, Xicheng, Dongcheng, Chaoyang, Shunyi and Tongzhou.

"The festival will integrate the best events from those districts, which will attract the public to enjoy the traditions, culture, sports and scenery of the canal and the city after several months of being affected by the COVID-19 epidemic," she said.

The festival will be beneficial to the development of Beijing's sub-city center in Tongzhou district, where most of the canal is located, she added.