The 2026 Nantong Jianghai International Culture and Tourism Festival is set to kick off on April 24. [Photo/WeChat account: ntwgx6]

The 2026 Nantong Jianghai International Culture and Tourism Festival is poised to kick off with a grand opening ceremony at the Nantong Museum on April 24.

The ceremony will showcase key activities such as the unveiling of major events, insights from international travel influencers on their Nantong experiences, the launch of the Nantong Travel Card 2.0, and the signing of agreements with travel agencies from the Yangtze River Delta and abroad to attract tourists.

The festival promises an array of engaging cultural exhibitions and traditional performances, with a spotlight placed on the exhibition themed around the Sanxingdui Ruins, which are regarded internationally as one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the 20th century.

Throughout the festival, both international and domestic stage art performances will be available, offering residents and visitors the chance to enjoy top-tier cultural and artistic resources from Shanghai up close. Highlights include world-class dance performances such as the Russian ballet's Swan Lake, Jiangsu Grand Theatre's original dance drama Dream of the Red Chamber, and the dance drama Poetic Dance: The Journey of a Legendary Landscape Painting.

The festival will also highlight the 2026 Jiangsu Football City League with a series of related activities, while holding large-scale concerts and music festivals. These events aim to attract visitors from across the region and showcase the trendiness and vitality of Nantong.

Leveraging the picturesque river and sea landscapes as well as rural resources, the festival will develop premium rural leisure, wellness vacations, and agricultural experience routes, allowing visitors to fully immerse themselves in the poetic countryside of Nantong.