The lily flower festival kicks off in Xintai, a county-level city in Tai'an, Shandong province on June 22. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The lily flower festival kicked off in Xintai, a county-level city in Tai'an, Shandong province on June 22 to step up rural vitalization, promote the agricultural industry, and boost integrated development of the economy and tourism.

The festival is being held at a 17.33-square-kilometer local lily flower industrial complex with over 800 hectares of more than 30 kinds of planted lily flowers. The complex has developed a complete chain integrating lily flower planting, processing, deliveries, and sightseeing, and the booming lily flower industry has helped increase locals' incomes.

The launch ceremonies for a lily research base, the State Key Laboratory of Crop Biology, the Tsinghua University Rural Vitalization Work Station, an exhibition of agricultural products, and a lily photography exhibition will all take place during the festival.

The lily flower festival has been held in Xintai since 2017, which has become an important platform to showcase Xintai's advantages in special industries and tourism.

An aerial view of a sea of lily flowers at the lily flower festival in Xintai, Tai'an, Shandong province. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

A close-up of a blooming lily flower in Xintai. [Photo provided to chinadaily.com.cn]