The opening ceremony of the first Yangquan Culture and Tourism Development Conference is held at the foot of the Niangzi Pass in Yangquan on Aug 14. [Photo/Yangquan Daily] 

The first Yangquan Culture and Tourism Development Conference kicked off at the foot of the Niangzi Pass in Yangquan city, North China's Shanxi province, on Aug 14. 

The two-day event began with a spectacular display of fireworks and light shows, and art performances that showcased Yangquan's rich cultural heritage, abundant tourism resources, and unique urban charm, providing the audience with a high-quality audiovisual experience.

A drum performance is staged at the opening ceremony. [Photo/Yangquan Evening News] 

Hosted by the Yangquan municipal government, the conference aims to promote Yangquan's tourism brand and accelerate the development of this nationally renowned cultural tourism destination. 

The opening ceremony was attended by local government officials, experts, and scholars in the field of tourism and culture. It also welcomed representatives from neighboring cities' tourism departments, travel agencies from within and outside the province, chambers of commerce that enjoy cooperative relations with Yangquan, and important domestic cultural tourism investment enterprises, as well as key figures from the tourism industry associations of Shanxi and surrounding cities.

An opera show lights up the opening ceremony. [Photo/Yangquan Evening News] 

During this period, a tourism promotional event was held, showcasing Yangquan's cultural and tourism resources, major tourism projects, as well as exhibitions of intangible cultural heritage, cultural creative products, and pottery arts. 

With its relatively mild climate all year round, abundance of "air vitamins" (negative oxygen ions), rich geothermal resources, selenium-enriched soil, and built-up area with a green coverage rate of 38.86 percent and a forest coverage rate of 22.3 percent, Yangquan is an ideal destination for health and wellness tourism. 

In recent years, it has attached great importance to the development of its tourism and health industry, strengthened top-level planning, and relied on rich cultural and tourism resources to explore new paths of industrial development and develop a modern, diverse, and distinct series of tourism products.

The Niangzi Pass is illuminated at night. [Photo/Yangquan Evening News]