The Chengde Summer Resort held an international tourist festival and organized a series of activities to commemorate the 250th Anniversary of the founding of the Puning Temple.

The festival was kicked off in the evening on August 27, followed by a commemorative event for the founding of the Puning Temple the next day.

Participants from tourist agents gathered at the festival and signed the agreements to promote cooperation among tourist attractions surrounding the Bohai Sea region and 11 cities in northern China including Beijing and Tianjin.

The organizing committee also inspected the tourist resources in Chengde and launched several routes like the imperial cultural tour, the trip of Buddhism culture, ecological tour on the grassland and the tour along the Great Wall.

Officials from the Ethnic Affairs Committee, the National Religion Bureau, the Hebei government and Chengde municipal government attended the opening ceremony. Guests working at tourist industry from the United States, Britain, Canada, Switzerland, Japan, Singapore, North Korea and the Philippines as well as those from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan also attended the ceremony.

(Xinhua News Agency September 3, 2005)