The 2020 China Yangzhou Flowery March International Economic, Trade and Tourism Festival kicked off on April 18 in Yangzhou of east China's Jiangsu Province with 36 key projects contracted at the opening ceremony.

It is learned that 178 projects with a gross investment of 187.83 billion yuan will be contracted during the festival, involving advanced manufacturing, modern services and sci-tech cooperation.

The project signing ceremony at the 2020 China Yangzhou Flowery March International Economic, Trade and Tourism Festival. 

During the festival, the city will issue tourism and catering cards to visitors through online and offline channels to let them enjoy a cash rebate, aiming at expediting the building of a well-known international cultural tourism city and fostering the recovery of the service sector.

The festival also witnessed the unveiling ceremony of "Food Capital of the World".

As a city with a history of 2,500-odd years, Yangzhou was rated as China's fourth "Food Capital of the World" in 2019 after Chengdu in southwest China's Sichuan, Shunde District of Foshan in south China's Guangdong, and Macao.

As a member of the UNESCO Creative Cities Network, Yangzhou has taken a comprehensive set of actions in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, and introduced specific measures to support local catering sector, Ernesto Ottone Ramírez, Assistant Director-General for Culture of UNESCO, said via video connection.

He believed Yangzhou has the ability to get through the crisis with its strong cultural resources and gastronomic traditions.

Yangzhou will ramp up efforts in developing industrial clusters involving automobiles and parts, high-end equipment, and new power equipment, microelectronics and software and information service, and high-end textiles and clothing, ocean engineering equipment and high-tech ships, biomedicine and new medical devices, food, and aviation, said Zhang Baojuan, Mayor of Yangzhou.

The city is facing unprecedented development opportunities brought by the Yangtze River Delta integration, the Grand Canal Cultural Belt and other national development plans. The convenient modern transport, profound cultural heritage and sci-tech innovation, international and standardized business environment, and convenient living environment together make Yangzhou an ideal place to live, work and start businesses, said Xia Xinmin, Secretary of CPC Yangzhou Municipal Committee.

It's reported that the Flowery March International Economic, Trade and Tourism Festival has been held for 19 consecutive years, and has become an important platform for promoting Yangzhou's economic and trade cooperation and cultural exchanges at home and abroad.