Rhododendron Lake in Arxan, Hinggan League, Inner Mongolia autonomous region [Photo by Huo Yan]

Arxan, a small city located on the Sino-Mongolian border in the far northeastern corner of Inner Mongolia autonomous region, plans to hold a rhododendron festival on May 19.

The festival, an annual event in the city, will consist of an opening ceremony, promotional tourism conferences, a hiking event, and an assortment of cultural activities including local dance shows and a cycling culture exhibition.

In order to provide a boost to the tourism industry, cities across Inner Mongolia have been holding festivals for a variety of different flower seasons. The rhododendron festival in Arxan is just one of such festivals in Inner Mongolia and will run for nearly a month.

Arxan has the most forested area per capita in all of China, with flora coverage of 95 percent. Woodlands take up about 80 percent of the land area.

The city has been promoting the development of its tourism sector for a number of years and is dedicated to building itself into a popular travel destination.

According to the local government, it received 1.91 million visitors from Jan to July last year, a year-on-year increase of 10 percent. Tourists brought in 2.28 billion yuan ($33.03 million) during this period, 10 percent more than the previous year.