The city of Baishan, in Jilin province opened its 7th Jilin·Jiangyuan Changbai Mountain and Songhua Stone Tourism Festival, on July 16, as a celebration of its famous Songhua stone, which is used mainly for ink stones, a major symbol of Chinese calligraphy.

The festival, in the city's Jiangyuan district, displays Songhua stone culture in combination with Changbai Mountain tourism in the nearby area, one of the Northeast's most popular tourist destinations. The district has provided more than 100 series of Songhua stone art works and has dozens of related workshops and enterprises.

The city itself has many art works based on Songhua stone, as well as its local cuisine, and hot springs and, for the festival, has instituted a green e-trading system in conjunction with a Shanghai technology company, to push its culture products across China.

Opening ceremony of Jilin•Jiangyuan Changbai Mountain and Songhua Stone Tourism Festiva, in Baishan, on July 16 [Photo/chinajilin.com.cn]

Organizers of the event are the China Ornamental Stone Association, Jilin Songhua Stone Society, and Baji Arts and Crafts Company of Jilin.