Overseas participants at the Guangdong International Tourism and Culture Festival (GITCF) inked 129 deals with their Guangdong partners totaling US$1.629 billion in Guangzhou on Saturday.

These deals include five tourism and entertainment centers to be built in Guangdong Province with investment exceeding US$100 million yuan each. Two of the centers will be built in Zhanjiang, one in Zhuhai, one in Guangzhou and one in Shenzhen.

The international tourism festival, being held from Friday to Dec. 11, was expected to attract more than 4,000 overseas attendees and around 100,000 visitors from the Chinese mainland, the Guangzhou Daily reported.

The opening ceremony was held at the Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center on Friday night, featuring more than 4,200 performers. A parade of floats set off at 2:30 p.m. Friday from Guangzhou's Yitai Plaza and ended at the Tianhe Sports Center. It was the largest ever float parade in Guangdong’s history, local media reported.

The decoration of the largest float cost 100,000 yuan (US$12,500) to make.

The festival will include a number of events, such as a kite-flying contest in Yangjiang, a wedding ceremony on the river in Wuyi, a local opera performance in Kaiping and other events showcasing local customs and traditions to attract visitors.

A Bavarian Beer Festival also opened over the weekend in Guangzhou, where local people and tourists had an opportunity to enjoy authentic Bavarian beer and snacks.

The Bavarian government has also sent chefs, musicians and a soccer team to the event.

(Shenzhen Daily November 28, 2005)