Lianjiang, FUJIAN---The fourth Fuzhou International Hot Spring Tourism Festival opened in Lianjiang county, Fujian province, on Oct 26. At the ceremony, Yang Yimin, mayor of Fuzhou, welcomed tourists from home and abroad to visit Fuzhou for sightseeing and to enjoy the hot spring.

Officials from embassies in China; representatives of countries such as France, the United States, Germany, Australia, Mexico, South Korea, New Zealand, Iran, the Philippines and Canada; and representatives from travel agencies across China attended the opening ceremony.

At the opening ceremony, the presented guests enjoyed arranged dances and musical performances from Russia, Spain, Taiwan and Fuzhou. They also enjoyed the wonderful hot spring at the Gui'an Xishan resort hotel after the show.

According to the Fuzhou tourism bureau, residents in Fujian or tourists coming to Fuzhou can get preferential coupons at Fuzhou's hot spring scenic spots from Oct 26 - Dec 31. The bureau will offer 100 free ticket packets to visitors, which are available in the city's 13 hot spring places, each worth 2,000 yuan ($329).

Fuzhou has rich hot spring resources that enjoy great popularity among locals. The Fuzhou government, in recent years, has put great efforts into promoting the hot spring tourist industry. The government has launched a series of distinctive tourist projects to make the hot spring industry more global.

Yang Yimin, deputy secretary of Fuzhou Municipal Party Commitee and mayor of Fuzhou City, Zhu Hua, the director of Fujian Tourism Bureau and two guests jointly lights up the crystal ball of the Fourth Fuzhou International Hot Spring Tourism Festival.[Photo by Yangjie/China Daily]