File photo: Opening ceremony of the 2022 China Nantong Jianghai International Culture and Tourism Festival. [Photo provided to nantong.gov.cn]

The 2023 China Nantong Jianghai International Culture and Tourism Festival will open on April 27 in Nantong, East China's Jiangsu province, the information office of the Nantong municipal government said at a news conference on April 20.

Sponsored by the Culture and Tourism Department of the Jiangsu Provincial Government and the Nantong municipal government, the festival will run from April to December and include one opening ceremony, six theme events and other activities organized by local districts and counties.

The opening ceremony is set to take place at 7:30 pm at Nantong Grand Theater, at which time the festival's major activities and the city's 10 cultural landmarks will be unveiled and a music drama about university graduates starting businesses will be performed.

Six theme events will consist of nearly 100 activities about tourism, performances, festival celebrations, intangible cultural heritage displays, and delicacies.

Representatives from the Nantong municipal department of culture, broadcasting, television, and tourism, organizer of the festival, said that the festival this year highlights Jianghai and Zhang Jian culture, recreational consumption, and cooperation between surrounding cities.

The China Nantong Jianghai International Culture and Tourism Festival has been held for 20 years and is renowned for integrating cultural and tourism resources, promoting cooperation between the culture and tourism industries, and boosting consumption.