An opening ceremony for an autumn tourism festival and Yonglian rural tourism festival was held in Zhangjiagang's Yonglian town, Jiangsu province, on Oct 18.

The two festivals, themed "Experience Yangtze River Culture and Enjoy Rural Tourism," highlight rural tourism, crab tasting and hot springs. They are a key part of the 2014 China (Zhangjiagang) Yangtze River Culture Festival, which will kick off on Nov 1. The activities will strengthen tourism cooperation with other cities and transform Zhangjiagang into a hot tourist destination in Yangtze River Delta regions.

A promotion for Zhangjiagang food tourism was also held on the same day to invite visitors to taste Yangtze River crabs in Yonglian town. The activity runs from Oct 18 until Nov 30.

On Oct 16, Yonglian town was designated as a national 4A level scenic spot by the Jiangsu Provincial Tourism Bureau. To date, there are three 4A tourist attractions, three 3A tourist attractions and three provincial-level four-star scenic spots in Zhangjiagang, including Phoenix Mountain, Xiangshan Mountain and Jiyang Lake Ecological Park.