Yichang is the permanent award place for the only nationwide cultural festival activity--- "China Qu Yuan Poetry Awards" for Dragon Boat Festival hosted by Ministry of Culture. On this special day, the Cross-Strait descendants of Qu Yuan get together again and the experts on intangible cultural heritage gather in Zigui. Representative custom in 42 regions exhibit in Yichang...

　　From May 29th to June 2nd, 2014 Dragon Boat Cultural Festival in Qu Yuan\'s hometown with its unique cultural elements make Yichang become the focus at home and abroad once again making the world feel the cultural charm in Yichang.

　　"Dragon Boat Festival" Becomes Yichang’s Feature

　　Yichang is the origin of Dragon Boat Festival. Dragon Boat Festival is not just a festival; it has become a symbol of a culture and national spirit, rooted in the soul of the Chinese nation.

　　On May 28th, 16 Taiwan compatriots and descendants of Qu Yuan from Zhanghua Taiwan arrived Yichang and began their trip of "Roots". They said that their ancestors were in Zigui, Yichang!

　　Cross-Strait descendants of Qu Yuan bridged the cultural exchanges between Taiwan and mainland. "China Qu Yuan Poetry Awards" has become a cultural event attracting poets, scholars and poetry amateurs at home and abroad.

　　As one of the highlights, the presentation of award closely connected the Dragon Boat Festival and massive Qu Yuan culture. As the highest single award set up by the Poetry Institute of Chinese, the prize-giving city for "China Qu Yuan Poetry Awards" will permanently be Yichang. This is not only the honor of Yichang and Chinese poetry world, but also the greatest respect for the Chinese patriotic poet Qu Yuan. "Qu Yuan represents traditional Chinese poetry, and Qu Yuan\'s hometown is Zigui, so this time I\'m not passing by but returning." A famous Taiwan poet Zheng Chouyu said that he enjoyed the activities of the Dragon Boat Festival, and if conditions permit, he is willing to visit Yichang during Dragon Boat Festival every year.

　　For this cultural festival, we opened the microblog special column "Focus the Dragon Boat Festival in Yichang", attracting 1,165,000 person-time read. People\'s Daily, Xinhua, Sina, Sohu, "China Daily", and many other well-known media launched a series of reports. "China Press" in the United States, "Beijing Daily" in Thailand, "Chinese Herald" in Japan and other foreign media also report or reproduce related reports, which make the world feel unique cultural charm of the Dragon Boat Festival in Yichang." Dragon Boat Festival" has become a cultural card of Yichang.

　　Tourists at Home and Abroad Assist the Grand Event

　　Culture has the same origin. Dragon Boat Cultural Festival is not only a festival of Yichang, but also a festival of China.

　　On May 30th, a group of tourists were happily watching Dragon Boat Festival picture exhibition in the front of Qu Yuan Temple in Zigui. These pictures were from 42 regions including Huangshi in Hubei, Miluo in Hunan, Jiaxing in Zhejiang, Yanqing in Beijing, Zhanghua in Taiwan.

　　Organizers elaborately prepared this exhibition, which is also China\'s first large-scale exhibition about Dragon Boat Festival, so as to make visitors around the world experience the different custom in different regions. "We can feel different regions’ custom in Qu Yuan\'s hometown and the origin of Dragon Boat Festival, so that we can understand the profound culture of the Dragon Boat Festival." said a tourist after watching the picture exhibition.

　　During the Dragon Boat Cultural Festival, a total of 1,440,600 person-times poured in Yichang to appreciate authentic culture of the Dragon Boat Festival, enjoyed beautiful landscape in Yichang, and tasted the unique Tujia culture. They left the happy memories in Yichang and brought the beauty of Yichang to the world.

　　JoanitakenteTushabe, a female student from Uganda, has been in China for five years, and this is the first time that she has arrived Yichang and has felt the culture of the Dragon Boat Festival. "I\'m glad to visit Qu Yuan\'s hometown." She said, the Dragon Boat Festival is a festival of China as well as a festival of Yichang.

　　Ou Xiaoping, deputy editor-in-chief of Jingmen Daily, said that the cultural festival was a great success, which reflected the broad mind and cultural deposits of Yichang. First and foremost, the Dragon Boat Cultural Festival promoted the inheritance of Qu Yuan culture.

　　The Dragon Boat Cultural Festival with colorful activities made tourists and Yichang citizens enjoy and benefit from the culture edification.

　　Yichang attracts businessmen home and abroad

　　2014 Dragon Boat Cultural Festival in Qu Yuan’s hometown has made Yichang---famous tourism and cultural city become the popular place recommended by travel agency at home and abroad again. "I am lucky to spend Dragon Boat Festival in Yichang, and the magnificent Three Gorges, picturesque Qingjiang, as well as a series of activities to commemorate Qu Yuan are unforgettable." Ms. Peng from a travel agency in Nanchang said. Nanchang to Yichang special train has opened and I believe more Nanchang citizens will spend Dragon Boat Festival in Yichang in the future.

　　During the Dragon Boat Festival, traveling salesmen from South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the mainland inspect cultural tourism product about Dragon Boat Festival, and plan to open a long-term cultural tourism special line in Yichang.

　　The head of South Korean in Yichang tourism office highly praised the rich tourism resources in Zigui. He said they would blend the products suitable for Korean tourists from Zigui tourist attractions and products and would promote them, so that more Korean tourists would understand and visit Zigui. Currently, there is a non-stop flight from Korean to Wuhan for tourists every Saturday. During the Dragon Boat Festival, the slogan "Spend Dragon Boat Festival in Yichang" appeared in Sina, Sohu and other web portals and became a hot topic in Microblog and WeChat.

　　In addition, fighting spirit and nice investment environment of Yichang have left a deep impression to businessmen from various places. On May 29th, several contracts of green science and technology projects that worthing 4.6 billion RMB successfully were signed in Zigui on the trade fair of "To create a better future in Qu Yuan\'s hometown". (Reporter Cao Yang, Practice Reporter Wan Junsong)