A promotion conference featuring Shandong's Grand Canal culture was held via an online platform on July 27, and government officials and enterprise representatives took part in the launching ceremony online.

The conference is an important part of the "Beautiful China" online promotional events, which have set up eight venues in Beijing, Shandong, Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Hubei, Sichuan, Chongqing and Hong Kong. The promotional events offer a platform for visitors and travel enterprises from Hong Kong and Macao to gain more knowledge about the historical and cultural resources of the Grand Canal, and the protection and restoration of famous cities and towns situated along the canal.

Zhang Xu, vice-minister of the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, addressed the launching ceremony, and said this year marks the 25th anniversary of Hong Kong's return to the Chinese mainland, and the construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area has also entered a new stage of comprehensive and in-depth development.

Starting in Beijing, the Beijing-Hangzhou Grand Canal stretches through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei, Shandong and Jiangsu to the city of Hangzhou in Zhejiang province, linking the Yellow River and Yangtze River. Selected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2014, it is the longest canal, or artificial river, globally. It flows through five cities in Shandong, which are Jining, Zaozhuang, Dezhou, Liaocheng and Tai'an, and offers rich and profound cultural and tourism resources.