The 3rd annual China (Ningxia) International Driving Tour Festival is scheduled to kick off in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on June 23, with an estimated participation of thousands of motor cars and tourists from around the country, according to the festival's organizing committee.

The six-day event will feature a driving tour along the banks of the Yellow River that runs through the region, an off-road rally race across the Mu-Us Desert and a two-day driving tour on Liupan Mountain.

Xue Gang, deputy chief of Ningxia Tourism Department, is proud of the region's well-structured highway system, which in addition to its diversified landscape and unique Hui culture, turns the autonomous region into an ideal destination for driving tours.

Since 2000, the region's tourism authority has hosted a series of motor driving festivals in a bid to build the wild western province into a driving destination. Last year, the second driving tour festival attracted nearly 200 cars and more than 1,000 motorist fans and tourists from over 20 cities.