A grand boat show on the Dongting Lake marked the start of the 2007 Hunan Tourism Festival on Sept. 12, 2007 in Yueyang, northeastern Hunan. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

A grand boat show on the Dongting Lake marked the start of the 2007 Hunan Tourism Festival on Sept. 12, 2007 in Yueyang, northeastern Hunan. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

Renowned baritone Yang Hongji gave performance at the opening ceremony of the 2007 Hunan Tourism Festival on Sept. 12, 2007 in Yueyang, northeastern Hunan. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

Zhou Qiang, governor of Hunan province, announced the start of the 2007 Hunan Tourism Festival on Sept. 12, 2007 in Yueyang, northeastern Hunan. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

A grand boat show was held Wednesday on the Dongting Lake in city Yueyang to mark the start of the 2007 Hunan Tourism Festival.

Hundreds of vessels, decorated as ancient warships, fishers and modern flowery boats impressed large number of audience from home and abroad.

This year's tourism festival is the sixth since 2002, and the largest ever.

Two hundred and twenty foreign tourist agents have come to Hunan for their respective fact-finding missions. They are from eleven countries and regions including the United States, Germany, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong.

"I've been to China 56 times, and have visited Zhangjiajie for eleven times," Mr. Kown, member of a South Korean tourism association, told CRIENGLISH.com reporter.

When asked about the differences between Hunan and other places in China as a tourist destination, Mr. Kown said that in Hunan one can see more natural scenery and the unique lifestyles of many ethnic groups.

"Zhangjiajie is a place that every South Korean wants to visit at least once," he noted.

In 2006, Hunan received over 90 million domestic visitors and 970 thousand foreign tourists, who together have spent about 59 billion yuan, accounting for 7.9% of the provincial GDP.

(CRIENGLISH.com September 14, 2007)