The 2016 Mount Huaying Tourism Festival will open in Guang’an City, Sichuan on August 10, it was announced at a press conference held on Friday in Chongqing.

The festival, sponsored by Sichuan Tourism Board and the People’s Government of Guang’an, is themed “Trip to the Hometown of Deng Xiaoping ? Tour around Mount Huaying.”

It consists of three major sections and twelve activities, scheduled to last through November.

Compared with past sessions, the festival has a new activity this year to promote coordination of cities belonging to the Yangtze River Economic Belt in terms of tourism development.

Representatives from government agencies and enterprises both in and outside Sichuan, as well as experts hold in-depth discussions to boost tourism development along the belt.

During the festival, districts and counties of Guang’an will hold characteristic activities such as tasting local specialty foods, grape and grapefruit plucking, and Marathon race.

Guang’an, situated in eastern Sichuan, has made tourism a pillar industry as it seeks an innovation-driven transformation in recent years. Its tourism industry has made noticeable progress.

The city now has 16 scenic areas rated A and above. The Hometown of Deng Xiaoping has a 5A rating. Mount Huaying is a 4A-rated scenic area.

The city ranks fourth in nationwide rankings of sample cities by tourist satisfaction conducted by the National Tourism Administration.

In the coming years, the city, while pushing forward a shift to developing region-based tourism from scenic spot-based tourism, will tap on its mountains, valleys, lakes, and rural sceneries to build itself into an urban tourism destination, a base for leisure, vacation, and tourism in Sichuan and Chongqing, and an international tourism destination.

It strives to double its tourism revenue to 50 billion yuan by 2020.