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Suzhou, China – November 04, 2026 – The 2026 Yangtze River Culture Festival opened on October 30 in Yonglian Village, Nanfeng Town, Zhangjiagang, Suzhou, Jiangsu province, and will run through November 29. The event is jointly sponsored by the Publicity Department of the CPC Jiangsu Provincial Committee, the Jiangsu Provincial Department of Culture and Tourism, and the Suzhou Municipal People’s Government. It is co-organized by the Publicity Department of the CPC Suzhou Municipal Committee, the Suzhou Municipal Bureau of Culture, Radio, Television and Tourism, and the Zhangjiagang Municipal People’s Government.

As this year marks the 10th anniversary of the Yangtze River Economic Belt initiative, the festival highlights how the integration of culture and tourism can boost consumption. At the opening ceremony, Jiangsu’s lineup of autumn and winter cultural events, public-benefit policies, and high-speed rail itineraries for exploring small cities in the Yangtze River Delta were unveiled. Information on major performing arts events in Shanghai and Jiangsu was also released, further opening up channels for resource sharing between the two regions. Well-designed inbound tourism routes along the Yangtze River were presented, and a roadshow for an AI-driven supply chain platform was held. Achievements from Suzhou’s “2026 Culture City of East Asia · Activity Year of Suzhou, China” program were showcased. Several high-quality culture and tourism projects were also signed on site, including projects to promote Yangtze River inbound tourism routes to South Korean tourists; facilitate in-depth cooperation among industrial parks; revitalize and make use of intangible cultural heritage along the Yangtze River; and create cultural tourism consumption scenarios along the river. These projects aim to inject new vitality into the integration of culture and tourism.

Rural representatives from 13 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) along the Yangtze River also jointly launched the “Declaration on Common Prosperity through Countryside Cultural Tourism.” Using cultural tourism as a bond and drawing on the vast rural areas of the Yangtze River basin, the declaration aims to bring riverside regions together to explore ways to promote rural revitalization through culture and advance common prosperity through cultural tourism.

Before the opening ceremony, the guests visited the “Art Without Borders: A Joint Exhibition of Works from Community Collaborative Art Museums,” the “Seal Narratives of the Yangtze River — Exhibition of Fine Seal Carvings on the Yangtze River Theme by Outstanding Artists,” the “Hundred Views of the Yangtze River” Photo Exhibition, and the Yonglian leg of the “Watching Over the Yangtze” Intangible Cultural Heritage and Folk Customs Fair, among others. The “Art Without Borders: A Joint Exhibition of Works from Community Collaborative Art Museums,” centered on the core concept of “mass cultural creation and sharing,” features three narrative lines: “Local Scenes,” “Nostalgia” and “The Beautiful.” It presents more than 200 works co-created by artists and citizens, bringing Yangtze River culture beyond something to be talked about and into people’s daily lives. The “Seal Narratives of the Yangtze River — Exhibition of Fine Seal Carvings on the Yangtze River Theme by Outstanding Artists” displays more than 80 seal carvings depicting the river’s landscapes, attractions and poetry through the art of seal cutting. The exhibition will be held at the China Cultural Center in Budapest, Hungary, on November 19. The “Hundred Views of the Yangtze River” Photo Exhibition uses 100 documentary photographs to showcase the ecological environment, urban and rural transformation, and cultural tourism appeal of the Jiangsu section of the Yangtze River, offering a vivid picture of river protection and the integration of culture and tourism.

Guided by the principle of “making the event a grand celebration of Yangtze River culture and a festival for the people” and the theme of “Integration · Promotion · Sharing,” the 2026 Yangtze River Culture Festival features three programs: “Exploring the Yangtze,” “Celebrating Yangtze Culture” and “An Open Yangtze.” In addition to the two major exhibitions, the programs include the offline launch of the joint promotion project for the 2026 “Express Roaming · Golden Partners” high-speed rail trips to small cities in the Yangtze River Delta; the “Water Charm of Jiangsu · Free Driving Tour” riverside RV camping and exchange activity; the “Masters Talk About the Yangtze” touring exchange activity; the “Watching Over the Yangtze” Intangible Cultural Heritage and Folk Customs Fair; the Yangtze River Dialects Party; the “Yangtze Welcomes: A Tour to the Great River · Ten Thousand Miles of Rising Tides” inbound tourism promotion activity; the “Tide · Coming” culture and tourism matching activity; and the “Scripts Carrying the Culture · Characters Portraying the Yangtze” Chinese and foreign hard-tipped pen calligraphy exchange and display activity. The activities will continue through November 29, allowing participants to experience Yangtze River culture from all angles. Meanwhile, the Zhangjiagang leg of a provincewide tour of outstanding stage art and mass literary and artistic works, themed “Jasmine Blooms · Enjoy Good Shows at Your Doorstep,” was launched in late October.

About Yangtze River Culture Festival

Since its launch in 2004, the Yangtze River Culture Festival has been held annually for 23 consecutive years. Zhangjiagang has joined hands with more than 200 organizations in 13 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) along the river to hold more than 200 activities, attracting a combined online and in-person audience of more than 500 million. The festival has received numerous honors, including the Second Ministry of Culture Innovation Award, recognition as one of China’s outstanding ethnic festivals with the “Most Internationally Influential Festival” distinction, and the “Regional Linkage Brand Activity” award under the National Mass Cultural Activity Brand Program.

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