A dance performance is given at the 9th Rugao tourism and culture festival on Oct 25, 2020. [Photo/CFP]

The 9th Rugao tourism and culture festival kicked off on Oct 25 at the city's Shuihui Garden, in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, according to the organizers.

Rugao, a famous historical and cultural city in Jiangsu, is home to various historical sites including the Shuihui Garden and Dinghui Temple. It was also the home of such famous literati as Mao Pijiang, a scholar during the end of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and Li Yu, a dramatist during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1911).

With its plentiful sunlight and rainfall, Rugao has been dubbed China's hometown of bonsai flowers and trees. It has planted over 200,000 mu (13,333 hectares) of flowers and trees, with its forest coverage reaching 25 percent.

Rugao was selected as one of China's top 100 counties for its comprehensive tourism in 2020 and it became the only city in the area administered by the prefecture-level city of Nantong to be included on the list of 2020 Jiangsu whole-region tourism demonstration areas.

Officials said the city has striven to promote its green development and boost the integration of its culture and tourism, in an attempt to apply for the status of being one of the country's "national whole-region tourism demonstration areas" and "national famous historical and cultural cities".

They said the tourism industry has become a key driving force for the city's economic expansion and it has maintained a 15-percent-plus annual growth rate in tourism revenue for three consecutive years.

Rugao now has 11 national scenic spots, 10 national star-level tourist restaurants and has 12 top-rated distinctive homestays. In 2019, 15.85 million tourists visited Rugao, generating tourism revenue of 19.02 billion yuan ($2.85 billion).