On June 19th, the 8th Dunhuang Tour-Silk Road International Tourism Festival opened in northwest China's Gansu Province. The tourism festival features cooperation between countries along the Silk Road, and will run until July 20th.
According to the organizer, 1,500 guests from 52 countries and regions gathered in the opening ceremony. Over the next month, Gansu Province will hold 55 cultural activities, which are expected to attract about 34 million tourists and bring in 23.6 billion RMB (around $3.64 billion) as tourism revenues.
The Silk Road International Tourism Festival focuses on showing the arts, handcrafts, creative design products, intangible cultural heritage, and cultural tourism products from the regions and countries along the Silk Road. Relying on the abundant culture tourism resources, the tourism industry along the Silk Road is developing rapidly.
The 8th Dunhuang Tour-Silk Road International Tourism Festival was jointly organized by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism and the Gansu provincial government since 2011. The event has become an important platform and opportunity to exchange ideas on tourism and strengthen corporations between the regions along the Silk Road.