Wild Rice Stem Festival helps fuel tourism
The opening ceremony of the 10th Wild Rice Stem Festival was held at Taipu River in Liantang Town, Qingpu District, on Saturday.
The festival, featuring local agricultural products and idyllic landscapes, will run through October 5.
The entrance of the main venue. This year, the festival has the theme of "Fall in Love with Liantang — The Good Times."
A dance performance at the opening ceremony.
Wild rice stem, also known as jiaobai, is a popular vegetable in Liantang Town. Since the first jiaobai festival in 2008, the local government has endeavored to promote the celebration of agricultural activities and has made jiaobai one of the pillar industries in the town.
A local resident sells jiaobai.
Farmer Xie Qiuhua is a long-time participant in the festival. Each year, around 5,000 kilograms of jiaobai are sold with a turnover of over 30,000 yuan (US$4368) at her stall.
Liantang Town now seeks to boost its tourism industry by making local farm products the focus and exploring a variety of activities including a cooking contest and a cycling event.
The award ceremony for the cooking contest.
