Members of the Yao ethnic group perform a bronze-drum dance at the opening ceremony of the 2020 Dahua Zhuzhu Festival and Hechi Poverty Alleviation Tourism Activity. [Photo/gxnews.com.cn]

The 2020 Dahua Zhuzhu Festival and Hechi Poverty Alleviation Tourism Activity kicked off in Dahou Town, Dahua Yao autonomous county, Hechi on July 18, attracting more than 1,000 tourists, investors, as well as representatives from tourism enterprises and key tourism agencies of Guangdong province and Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region.

Since 2015, 87,122 people of 68 poverty-stricken villages in Dahua have been lifted out of poverty, while the incidence of poverty has dropped from 25.8 percent to 4.28 percent. The county has made great efforts to help the poor by promoting the rural tourism industry.

The event fully demonstrated the fruitful results of the poverty alleviation driven cultural tourism industry in Hechi, as well as served as a platform for the production and marketing of cultural tourism products and agricultural products, guiding tourists to buy local products and visit rural tourism routes to help lift impoverished households out of poverty and increase their incomes.

Members of the Dahua Yao ethnic group performed intangible cultural heritage programs, such as Yao Ancient Songs and the bronze-drum dance, at the opening ceremony. Booths were also set up to exhibit and sell more than 400 tourism souvenirs, agricultural products, as well as intangible cultural and creative products from more than 60 units in various counties (districts) in Hechi.

Members of the Bunuyao ethnic group also held traditional national sports competitions and folk customs, such as cockfighting, crossbow shooting, and racing competitions, to celebrate the annual Zhuzhu festival, showcasing their unique culture to tourists.