Themed galas, learning tours, gourmet food competitions, exhibitions and sales, cultural performances, and marathons are on the cards in Aral, a city in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region.

The activities aim to showcase the rich cultural heritage of the area and demonstrate its vibrancy as an emerging tourist destination.

At the recent autumn tourism launch ceremony, Ding Yiqiang, Aral Party secretary, said a great deal of importance has been attached to strengthening the development of cultural tourism, to creating new business models, and to exploring cultural tourism resources.

More tourists and cultural tourism businesses, both in and outside the region, have visited Aral, leading to significant progress in the cultural tourism sector, Ding said.

Travel agencies from Zhejiang province and the Xinjiang self-drive tourism association signed cooperation agreements to boost tourism in the city at the ceremony.