Guan Gong Cultural Festival celebrates Chinese heroism

The 35th Guan Gong Cultural Tourism Festival kicked off on Monday in Guan Gong's hometown of Yuncheng city, Shanxi province, attracting over 1,000 domestic and international devotees.

The three-day event aims to pass on the culture of Guan Gong and promote national spirit.

In Chinese folklore, Guan Yu, a general from the late Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220), also known as Guan Gong or Guan Di, stands as a revered figure and a superhero in the eyes of the Chinese people.

Around 30,000 Guan Gong temples are spread across approximately 168 countries and regions worldwide.

"Yuncheng will take the festival as a new starting point to promote the integrated development of culture and tourism," Wang Ligang, the city's deputy Party secretary, said at the opening ceremony. "We will continue to optimize cultural services and the supply mechanism of cultural products, aiming to develop the cultural tourism industry into a strategic pillar industry and a source of happiness for residents."