[Video provided to chinadaily.com.cn]

The annual Yantai Cherry Festival kicked off in Fushan district, Yantai, Shandong province on June 3 and will last for nine days.

This year's festival aims to increase the brand awareness of Fushan cherries, promote local agriculture and rural tourism, and display local intangible cultural heritage items and cultural and creative products. The festival will feature a variety of activities such as musical events, a nighttime cultural market and an e-commerce festival.

The Fushan district government issued 20,000 cherry-picking tickets to the public during the opening ceremony of the festival.

Be sure to visit the Zhanggezhuang cherry market in Fushan to purchase the freshest cherries, or head to Dongfeng village to experience the joy of picking cherries with your kids.

Fushan is the core cherry production area in Yantai. Here, more than 110,000 mu (7,333.33 hectares) is set aside for cherry production. The cherry industry, which generates an annual output of more than 80,000 metric tons worth 1 billion yuan ($140.45 million), is one of the key drivers of development for Fushan and a main source of income for local farmers.