13th Water Margin tourism festival kicks off in Liangshan

The 13th China (Liangshan) Water Margin Cultural Tourism Festival kicked off on Sept 16 in Liangshan county, Jining, East China's Shandong province.

An original martial arts show was staged at the Liangshan Grand Theater on the same day. Themed around stories in the Chinese classic The Water Margin, the show presented the charm of martial arts and local culture.

The festival comprises six activities, including an intangible cultural heritage exhibition, a food festival and an agricultural products promotional event, and aims to attract more visitors so as to bolster the development of the tourism sector in Liangshan.

Famous for being the base camp of the 108 heroes in The Water Margin who stood up against a corrupt government during the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127), Liangshan has been making concerted efforts to build its tourism brand. A group of projects, such as a Water Margin street and a film studios park, has been established in the county.

The Liangshan Mountain scenic area in Liangshan county was rated as a national 4A-level tourist destination, a provincial-level forest park, and one of Shandong's top 10 cultural tourism attractions.