The 16th China Yangtze River Three Gorges International Tourism Festival will openwithagrandceremony in Yichang on September 6, as announced by the Information Office of the Hubei Provincial People’s Government at a recent press conference.

　　The festival will be held from September 6 to October 5 in Yichang, Hubei Province, featuring four main activities, including an opening ceremony performance, a gorge carnival, cultural tourism benefit programs and a specialty food culture exhibition, which will showcase the natural wonders and cultural charm of the Yangtze Three Gorges to international visitors.

　　The opening ceremony will take place at 7:30 PM on September 6 at Qianwan in Yiling District. During the festival, the organizing committee will establish a Gorge Tourism Alliance and release the Yichang Declaration on Sustainable Development of Global Gorge Tourism to promote worldwide cooperation and green practices in gorge tourism. The specialty food culture exhibition will be held from September 6 to 15 and a global travel traders’ conference will be held to promote cross-regional international tourism routes, such as the “Shennongjia--Wudang Mountain--Yangtze Three Gorges,” and organize inspections of Yichang-Enshi and Yichang—Shennongjia--Shiyan premium itineraries, for international travel professionals. These efforts aim to deepen cultural and tourism cooperation and expand the global influence of Hubei’s tourism brand. (Reporters/Yang JingandMei Yuan, Correspondent/Yu Xuenan)