National Fishing Championship kicks off in S China

NANNING, China - A national fishing championship kicked off in Nanning city, capital of South China's Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region on Monday.

A total of 76 teams are taking part in the 2013 National Fishing Championship, which will last for three days. The number of participants has reached about 300 this year.

The championship is part of the third China-ASEAN culture week of fishing, which will be held annually in Nanning for five consecutive years.

Its debut in 2011 attracted thousands of fishing experts from China and 10 ASEAN countries as well as aquaculture entrepreneurs, according to an official from Guangxi fishery administration.

According to statistics, there are approximately one million fishing enthusiasts, two thousand fishing venues and one hundred fishing clubs in Guangxi, and the overall output value is expected to amount to 6 billion yuan ($1 billion) this year.