More than 20 varieties of locally grown grapes are on show for visitors to Huangtu town, Jiangyin. [Photo/jntimes.cn]

The annual Jiangjin Huangtu Grape Culture Festival was held on Aug 18, with more than 20 varieties of locally grown grapes on show for visitors to Huangtu town, according to local officials.

Located in the western part of Jiangyin, a county-level city of Wuxi in East China's Jiangsu province, Huangtu town is one of China's leading production bases for high-quality grapes.

With over 40 years of history in cultivating grapes, these days Huangtu plants about 30 kinds of grapes in an area covering over 500 hectares. Over 1,400 grape farmers there are expected to rake in handsome profits from this year's harvest, thanks to the support they have received from the local government.

During the festival opening, Jiangyin Rural Commercial Bank introduced its new credit card designed especially for grape farmers, which could provide them with low-interest-rate loans of up to 200,000 yuan ($28,892).

In recent years, online sales have greatly streamlined the sales process and cut delivery costs, according to officials.

They said that in the past, Huangtu grapes were mostly sold only to buyers in the local area. Now, however, they are available to customers across the country.