GUANGZHOU: The Guangdong International Tourism and Culture festival has become a perfect platform for host province Guangdong, as well as other regions in China and in other countries, to promote their unique tourism attractions.

A splendid floats parade will be an important part of this year's festival, due to begin on November 23.

There will be 36 floats in the parade. The 11 members of the Pan-Pearl River Delta (PPRD) - Guangdong, Guangxi, Hainan, Hunan, Fujian, Jiangxi, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan and the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions - will all present their own floats.

The 21 cities in Guangdong Province will also have their respective floats featuring their tourism attractions.

Moreover, the city of Hami in the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, the Australian state of New South Wales, Jyushu in Japan, and other foreign cities will present their floats as well.

The floats will not only be part of the opening ceremony but also be taken around the busiest regions of the city during the festival.

The Guangdong Tourism Administration has released an activity agenda for the upcoming festival.

Opening Ceremony

Time: November 23, Friday 8 pm

Venue: Guangzhou Tianhe Stadium

Tourism Promotion Fair

Time: November 23, Friday 10 am

Venue: Dongfang Hotel, Guangzhou

PPRD Tourism Floats Parade

Time: November 23 to 25, Friday to Sunday

Venue: Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center and other places

Guangdong Tour of Overseas Chinese Celebrities

Time: November 23 to 29, Friday to Tuesday

Venue: All over Guangdong

Tourism Promotion and International Travel Exposition

Time: November 24 to 26

Venue: The South Square of Tianhe Sports Center

Sister Cities Gala Evening

Time: November 24, Saturday 8 pm

Venue: Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hall

A promotion convention named "Flying from Guangzhou"

Time: Morning of November 24, Saturday

Venue: Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center

Sports activity for locals and foreigners living in Guangzhou

Time: November 24 to 25, Saturday to Sunday

Venue: Guangzhou Tianhe Sports Center

PPRD Decorated-Boat Parade

Time: November 24 to 29

Venue: Bai'etan to Guangzhou Bridge Section, Pearl River

Lingnan Folk Arts Joint Performance

Time: November 24 to 29

Venue: Tianhe Sports Center

Since the opening ceremony will have a commercial cooperation with Shanghai EE Entertainment Company, it will be the first time that a ticket office will be opened for the public.

The provincial tourism administration said about one third of the tickets would be sold, and the rest allocated to different government organizations, companies and communities free of charge.

Tickets are not required for events other than the opening ceremony. People can enjoy the events without payment.

The administration said their goal is to spend the happy week with all people around the world.

By Liang Qiwen (China Daily )