Folk artists perform Liuqin Opera – one of the listed items of national intangible cultural heritage – in Matou town, under the jurisdiction of Tancheng county in Linyi city, in Shandong province, during the Spring Festival holiday. [Photo/VCG]

The ongoing Shandong Rural Culture and Tourism Festival – currently taking place throughout East China's Shandong province – is injecting fresh vitality into the region's folk cultures, helping to make it an important driving force to boost the overall cultural tourism sector.

Organizers say the ever-popular festival, which opened on Jan 18, runs to March 11.

"The festival promotes interaction between urban and rural areas, encourages the people participation, presents a splendid cultural feast that stimulates the rural cultural tourism market and showcases buoyant atmosphere in Shandong's rural areas in the new era," said Zhang Tonghai, deputy head of the Publicity Department of Shandong.

On the eighth day of the Lunar New Year on Feb 17, Yu Liangxing, inheritor of Bangzi Opera, an intangible cultural heritage item in Shandong, performed Judge Bao's Cases at Mingshui ancient town, in the Zhangqiu district of Jinan city, earning cheers from the audience.

Xie Weizhi, a member of staff in Mingshui ancient town, said visitors can try their hand at playing roles in the drama to experience the appeal of Zhangqiu Bangzi Opera.

The exciting folk performances are said to have already attracted hordes of people to the ancient town. During the Spring Festival holiday, it received more than 230,000 visitors.

The distinctive folk culture is in the DNA of most festive village markets. This Spring Festival, Wu Di, a Jinan local in his 30s, brought his friends from other places to visit the Zhonggong Grand Market, one of the largest rural markets in Shandong. The daily number of visitors to the market reached as high as 20,000 people.

Bu Wen, head of the information department of Shandong's Feicheng city, explained that the city has staged cultural activities such as public film screenings, boosting the variety and style of New Year's goods and services and promoting local culture to a broader audience.