Chongqing - The 11th Dazu Rock Carvings International Tourism and Culture Festival and the “Beautiful China · Dazu” international tourism exchange event are poised to kick off on March 9 in Southwest China’s Chongqing. 

The event’s theme is “Exquisite Rock Carvings Speak - Tell China’s Stories and Spread China’s Voices,” and it features a series of activities rich in folk customs and international elements.

The Dazu Rock Carvings International Tourism and Culture Festival originated from the traditional folk activity “Baoding Temple Fair,” which has been going on for 844 years. Since 2020, the festival has been held online for three consecutive years, and this year, it will once again take place offline for the 11th edition of the Dazu Rock Carvings International Tourism and Culture Festival.

The event will run from March 9 to early May, with a variety of exciting activities planned. The opening ceremony will be held on March 9 at the Dazu Rock Carvings Tourist Center, where the Dazu Rock Carving digital film will be officially released to the world with an 8K dome and a 4K widescreen. 

In addition, exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage, such as “Fire dragon performance in Zhong’ao Town,” “Ancient Carp Lanterns,” “Shuangqiao Lion Dance,” and “High Pole Acrobatics,” will be showcased. Hundreds of thousands of tourists are expected to gather at Baoding to enjoy this cultural and tourism feast.

During the event, a series of cultural and tourism activities will be held, including the 2023 National Grotto Exploration Orienteering Championship and the 7th “Hometown · Guanyin Rock” Tourism and Culture Festival.

The Travel Trade Conference will be held on March 10, where three opportunity lists for Dazu’s cultural and tourism industry development, facility construction, and policy support will be released. It is expected to encourage and guide more social forces and social capital to participate in Dazu’s cultural and tourism industry development and promote more cultural and tourism projects to settle in Dazu.

The 2023 “Beautiful China” International Tourism Exchange Event is set to depart from Dazu. It will use the world cultural heritage site of Dazu Rock Carvings as a medium to showcase the most dazzling Chinese historical and cultural stories to the world.

The China Tourism News Agency, together with various news departments, cultural and tourism departments, cultural and tourism enterprises, and overseas tourism agencies in China, will conduct a variety of colorful international tourism exchange activities to help build local cultural and tourism international brands.