Guilin, one of China's most popular tourism destinations, will host a tourism festival featuring its strangely-shaped stone formations, clear water and unique customs from April 15 to 20.

According to local sources, the venue of the festival, the eighth of its kind, will be in Xing'an County in Guilin City and is 57 km away from Guilin City proper.

The festival will be jointly held by the governments of Guilin City and Xing'an County and the Guilin Tourism Development Corporation.

During the festival, a great range of activities, including an investment promotion fair and shows to reflect the customs of people from ethnic groups in Guilin, will also be organized, said the sources.

Guilin, with a history of more than 2,000 years, is well known for its natural scenery, clear water, and strangely shaped karst formations. Its mountains and waters are considered the "best under the heaven". It played host to 9.63 million tourists last year, including 950,200 overseas travelers.

(People’s Daily 04/09/2001)