The opening ceremony for the Oboo Rendezvous Theme Event is held in the Agula cultural tourism town in Horqin Left Wing Rear Banner, Tongliao, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Aug 7. [Photo/people.com.cn]

The opening ceremony for the Oboo Rendezvous Theme Event was held in the Agula cultural tourism town in Horqin Left Wing Rear Banner, Tongliao, North China's Inner Mongolia autonomous region, on Aug 7.

Over 4,000 people, including hundreds of guests from 20 countries involved in the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), 10 couples from a variety of Chinese ethnic minorities, 100 guests from the 5th China-CEEC Summer Dance Camp and the 17th Fish Eye International Film Festival, representatives of chambers of commerce and related companies in North China's Liaoning province, South China’s Guangdong province, Central China's Hubei province, and Beijing, journalists from over 30 media companies, and a large general audience attended the opening ceremony.

The opening ceremony featured some unique cultural events, such as an oboo ceremony and a Horqin wedding, which demonstrated the unique charms of grassland culture.

The event's slogan is "Mutual Support, Green Development", and it aims to showcase Tongliao's culture and grassland customs, build a platform for cooperation and exchanges with BRI countries, and explore a high-quality development model that prioritizes the environment.

Local artists in traditional Mongolian clothing perform at the opening ceremony on Aug 7. [Photo/people.com.cn]

According to local media reports, the event consists of an opening ceremony and a variety of activities related to tourism, culture, and folk customs. After the opening ceremony, all attendees visited some exhibitions of intangible culture heritage items and cultural and creative works.

Furthermore, during the event, the 2nd International Forum on Youth Happiness was held, consisting of keynote speeches and an award ceremony to encourage young people to pursue their dreams.

Tongliao enjoys an advantageous geographical position and is an important comprehensive transportation hub in China. It has a long history and profound cultural heritage and has been named the "Top Tourist City of China", "the home of Chinese prairie beef cattle", "the capital of China's Mongolian medicine", and "the capital of China's Mongolian cuisine".

Nowadays, Tongliao has developed a relatively complete self-driving tour service system and is the pilot city for China's self-driving tour service. The Oboo Rendezvous event has been held for two years in a row and has become an important way for Tongliao to showcase itself. It has also played an important role in enhancing the city's popularity and influence and promoting its high quality development.