What the great Confucius left in his hometown is not only his fame, but also a goldmine for tourism. The city of Jinning now witnessed a booming cultural industry in recent years.

　　With the strategy of combining culture with tourism, the municipal government designed special t ravel routes based on local culture. Among them, Confucius culture was of course the greatest selling point.

　　Since 1989, Confucius Cultural Festival was held in late September each year. In 2005, sponsored by the UNESCO and relevant organizations, the first global sacrifice ceremony was held in the Qufu District of Jining. Chinese people around the globe paid tribute to the great thinker and educator at the same time, presenting the oriental culture to the global stage.

　　Some 12.34 million visitors from home and abroad visited the city last year, increasing by 43.4 percent over 2004. The city also reaped 8.15 billion Yuan from the booming tourist industry.

　　Other sectors also benefited from the cultural tourism industry. Take the exhibition business for example, in recent 5 years, cultural festivals such as the Confucius Cultural Festival, the Stone Carving Festival and the Lotus Festival drew over 1000 projects and 30 billion Yuan investment to the city.

　　Jining will invite bids to its cultural projects on Shandong International Culture Fair which is to open on June, XuXin